For 80 years, the Standún name has been woven into the fabric of Connemara.
What began as a modest family shop in Spiddal has become one of Ireland’s best-known independent fashion and lifestyle retailers, with stores in Spiddal, Oughterard and, most recently, Birr. Along the way, the business has changed almost beyond recognition — but the values at its heart have remained remarkably constant.
As Standún celebrates its 80th anniversary, perhaps the most striking part of its story is that it is not really one story at all. It is the story of three generations, each with a different vision of what the business could become, and each brave enough to change direction when circumstances demanded it.
The first vision belonged to Máirtín and May Standún, who established the business in the years immediately after the Second World War. Neither was originally from Spiddal. Máirtín had been born and raised in Liverpool to Irish immigrant parents, while May came from a drapery background in Mullingar. Both shared a deep love of the Irish language, Irish music and retail, and those interests drew them west.
They began in a two-bedroom bungalow, but the shop quickly became much more than a place to buy groceries.
In a very different Connemara from the one known today, Standún became a practical hub for the local community. Customers could buy groceries, clothing, bicycles, Wellington boots, household goods and almost anything else they needed. People left bicycle dynamos and other items to be collected later. Families could buy suits before emigrating to America, and local people could put purchases “on the book” to be paid for later.
It was a shop built around the needs of a community.
Then the world began to change.
As tourism grew and increasing numbers of visitors travelled through Connemara, the Standúns recognised another opportunity. Local tweed and Irish crafts began to take on a new importance. The business became increasingly associated with Irish-made products and eventually became the first exporter of the Aran sweater to the United States.
At one stage, around 700 women across Ireland were knitting for the business, providing an important source of income at a time when opportunities for married women to work outside the home were limited.
The first generation had created a community hub. The second generation saw the possibility of turning that local knowledge and Irish craftsmanship into something that could reach a much wider world.
In 1973, Máirtín and May’s son Donal took over the business. His decision to reduce the grocery side of the operation was not universally welcomed. His mother, understandably, questioned why such an important part of the local community should be abandoned.
But it was a courageous decision.
He could see the arrival of supermarket chains and recognised that competing as a general grocery store would become increasingly difficult. At the same time, he could see the potential in the growing tourism industry and in the international appetite for Irish products.
The business therefore moved decisively towards Irish fashion, knitwear, craft and tourism.
Authentically Irish
That decision helped establish Standún as a destination for visitors looking for something authentically Irish. Its reputation grew, and international attention followed. A feature in the Wall Street Journal describing Standún as one of the best places to buy an Aran sweater brought a surge of orders at a pivotal moment as online shopping was beginning to emerge.
Then came the third generation.
In 2010, Clíona Standún and her sister Laragh took over the business. If their father had taken the company from groceries towards tourism, their challenge was to make a tourism-dependent business relevant again to the people who lived around it.
It was a formidable time to take control. Ireland was in the grip of austerity, tourism was severely depressed and sales were at their lowest levels. The shop itself needed substantial modernisation after years in which the tourist trade had been strong enough to carry the business without major changes.
Clíona and Laragh had a different vision.
They invested in the stores, modernised the interiors, broadened the product range and, crucially, made Standún a year-round business. They opened seven days a week and began deliberately catering for local customers as well as tourists.
Full circle
In doing so, they came full circle.
The shop once again became a social place as well as a retail destination — somewhere where local people meet, browse, chat and seek advice, particularly around Christmas. The tourists remained important, but Standún was once again rooted in its local community.
That balance has become increasingly valuable in the age of online shopping.
Clíona believes the physical shop still has something that the internet cannot easily replicate: personal advice, the ability to touch and feel products, the pleasure of browsing and the social experience of being among other people.
Since COVID, she has also noticed a renewed interest in provenance. Customers want to know whether a product is Irish, who designed it, where it was made and whether it has been produced sustainably. The renewed popularity of tweed, Aran knitwear and heritage fashion has further strengthened Standún’s position.
Yet the challenges facing independent retail have never been greater.
Rising costs are putting enormous pressure on small businesses, and Clíona worries about the number of independent retailers closing or owners choosing to retire early because the burden has become too heavy.
That reality was one reason behind Standún’s decision to open its third location in Birr last November. The Midlands town offered a strong location, tourism potential and a suitable premises, while the family already knew there was a customer base in the region familiar with the Standún name.
Spreading costs across three locations also makes practical business sense.
But the decision to expand is about more than economics. It represents confidence in the future of independent retail and in the continuing appeal of an Irish brand with a genuine story behind it.
Celebration
That story will be celebrated on September 12, when Standún marks its 80th anniversary with a special event centred on Irish design and craftsmanship. Supported by the Design Council of Ireland and Eddie Shanahan, the event will bring seven designers and six of Standún’s suppliers together with customers for a celebration of Irish creativity and a “meet the makers” experience.
In many ways, it is the perfect way to mark eight decades.
The connection with Irish makers brings the story right back to the hundreds of women who once knitted for May and Máirtín Standún. The products may be different and the retail environment may have changed beyond recognition, but the belief in Irish skill, creativity and enterprise remains.
And there is one final question hanging over the celebration: what happens next?
Clíona and Laragh see themselves as custodians, carrying the torch for the next generation. Whether that generation will want to take on the business — and whether it will still be viable for them to do so — is impossible to know.
But perhaps that uncertainty is part of what has kept Standún alive for 80 years.
Each generation has inherited something different from the one before it. The founders built a shop for a community. Their son transformed it into a celebration of Irish craft and a destination for visitors from around the world. Clíona and Laragh have taken that heritage and created a modern Irish fashion business capable of serving both locals and tourists, while expanding beyond its Connemara home.
Three generations. Three visions. Three moments of reinvention.
And perhaps that is the secret of Standún’s longevity: not standing still, but knowing what should never change while having the courage to change almost everything else.
Eighty years on, the family is still carrying the torch.
