Lohan's Tick Book

Patrick Mitchell's tick book from Lohan's Shop, Menlough.

Emma Laffey

Lohan’s shop and public house were operated for many years in Menlough by John and Annie Lohan. Their youngest daughter, Mary ‘Mai’, took over the running of the business in later years. She had qualified as one of the first female solicitors in Ireland in 1933 and married Dr. J. Delaney, a psychiatrist at St. Brigid’s Hospital, Ballinasloe. Mary Lohan-Delaney operated her own legal practice from here until the 1970s. It was later to be operated a a public house only by the Glynn and Flynn families and has recently been converted to a residential enterprise.

Lohan’s shop was an invaluable part of the local community in Menlough. This tick book contains a great insight to what the local people were buying at the time and the cost of living. Every customer had their own tick book and brought it with them when purchasing any items at the shop.

Below is a scanned copy of a tick book kindly given to us by Patsy Laffey. It gives a detailed account of what groceries and items the family of Patrick Mitchell, Derrylissane, was purchasing during this time period from 1905. Note the change of stamp on page 11, from an English stamp to an Irish stamp, during 1916.

Just a small note on Patrick Mitchell himself – he was a great craftsman and he was commissioned to manufacture the pews for Menlough Church in 1895 and a scanned copy of the original contract is contained below. We also include a scanned copy of his original drawings for his home in Derrylissane and a photograph to show the completed house. For all of these scanned items we are especially grateful to Patsy Laffey.

A photograph, taken inside of the shop during 1960s, features local farmer Martin Costello and Padraic Devaney who hailed from Connemara. This photograph was kindly donated by Martin’s daughter, Bridie Scanlon. Following second Mass on Sunday, it was common practice for many local men to go to the ware’s room, known locally as the Dáil room, where some of it’s frequent visitors included Martin Costello, Mike Costello, Thomas Donohoe, Matt Donohoe and Markie Naughton.