Ireland’s best value supermarket Lidl opened the doors to its brand-new store in Carndonagh Co. Donegal today, taking the retailer’s store count to nine in the county and creating 30 new jobs for the local area.
Local ladies’ Gaelic football star and Donegal Captain Roisin Rodgers and local club Carndonagh LGFA Captain Amy Porter cut the ribbon this morning to mark the official opening and welcomed the first customers into the brand-new store.
Representing an investment of €7 million into the community, the new Lidl Carndonagh store is located on Station Road (R238), near the town centre. The new 2,209 square metre store features state-of-the-art facilities, including a spacious shop floor with wide aisles, long tills, an off licence, and Lidl’s much loved in-store bakery offering daily fresh baked goods. The store also incorporates a range of sustainability features including an ISO 50001 certified Energy Management System, electric vehicle charger spaces and a solar panel system.
To mark the opening, the staff at Lidl’s Carndonagh store donated €1,000 in Lidl vouchers to Friends of James Connolly Community Hospital. Advancing Lidl Ireland’s community-focused objectives under its 'A Better Tomorrow' corporate social responsibility programme.
The first ten shoppers to enter the brand-new store received complementary Lidl gift vouchers to put towards their in-store shop. Doors opened at 8am sharp, and early bird shoppers got their chance to meet and greet LGFA star and Roisin Rodgers and enjoy special instore entertainment.
Tom McAuliffe, Lidl Ireland Regional Managing Director said:
"This morning, we officially opened our 185th store in the republic of Ireland – an amazing achievement that marks a significant milestone for our dedicated teams across various departments, from property and construction to the store teams themselves, we are grateful for all of their hard work to get the store open bright and early this morning.
We also couldn’t have done it without support from the local community, and with their patience and support we have now reached a total of nine stores in Co. Donegal; offering high quality and affordable products to the Carndonagh area. The celebrations were kicked off early this morning, and the first shoppers through the doors received complimentary Lidl vouchers. “
LGFA star and Donegal Captain Roisin Rodgers said:
“Through its longstanding partnership with LGFA, Lidl has been hugely supportive of its communities and it’s great to see them further investing in the Donegal area by bringing a state-of-the-art store to Carndonagh, creating employment for local people. I was delighted to officially cut the ribbon and welcome customers to the new store.”
Continuing the retailer’s ambitious expansion plans, the brand-new store is the retailer’s 185th store in Ireland and 228th store within the island of Ireland.
Lidl opened its first Donegal store in Letterkenny in 2000 and currently employs more than 160 people across eight stores in Dungloe, Millford, Ballybofey, Letterkenny, Donegal Town, Bundoran, and Buncrana. Last year, Lidl procured over €40 million worth of goods and services from 25 suppliers and business partners across Donegal.
Lidl’s key Donegal suppliers include Ballybofey-based Mulrines – a premium juice and smoothie business that has been working with Lidl since 2009. In recent years, Mulrines have grown their €20 million contract with Lidl to significantly increase supply to Great Britain.
Lidl Ireland was recently named a ‘Top Employer’ by the Top Employers Institute for the fifth year running. The retailer was also named Most Reputable Retailer and 2nd Most Reputable Company in the 2024 RepTrak Ireland study, and was named Most Sustainable Retailer in Ireland, ranking #3 in the RepTrak® Sustainability Index for 2024.
Lidl’s Carndonagh store is open daily: Monday – Saturday 8:00am – 10:00pm, and Sunday 9:00am – 9:00pm.
Lidl Ireland currently employs more than 6,000 employees in its 185 stores, Head Office in Tallaght and three distribution centres and regional offices based in Charleville, Mullingar, and Newbridge.
For further information, the latest instore offers and career opportunities please visit www.lidl.ie
