The popular Dublin bookshop Chapters, which closed its doors in January, has announced that it will reopen on March 11th under new management.
The bookshop took to its social media channels to announce that its new management would be the owners of Gamesworld Middle Abbey St.
“We just couldn’t let it go!”, they said on Twitter today.
In an email statement to The University Times, new owner Mick Finucane said “we feel very honoured to be the new custodians of the much-loved Chapters Bookstore and are really excited about keeping all the wonderful things that people love about the store and adding a few new things like our ecommerce rollout which will be at the end of the month.”
Tributes poured in following the announcement last October that the shop was to close its doors.
“Willie Kinsella, founder, mentor, secret bibliophile has retired, but like the staff and customers doesn’t want the magic to die, and so has sold the store to his protégées, Neary and Finucane, co-founders, and former directors of GameStop Ireland – 25 years of friendship, admiration and shared understanding of retail and championing customer choice has come home again”, Finucane added.
“Although vastly experienced in retail and retail environments, the new directors believe the secret to Chapters continued success will be to let it do, what it does fantastically well – stocking, selling and trading the widest range of new and second-hand books it is possible to fit onto the 1.2 km of shelving in the store!”
“Investment will be made in improving the EPOS and stock visibility systems, plus converting the website to ecommerce. The manager Sara and members of her old team will be opening the doors on Friday 11th March for business as usual and remember … we want your books!”
Located on Parnell St, the bookshop featured a wide range of books, both new and second hand. The shop is renowned for its large second-hand collection, which sold new and old titles at a reduced cost – as low as a couple of euro.
The independent bookstore occupied several locations throughout its history but has been a prominent fixture of Dublin since 1983. Initially, it called Wicklow St its home before moving to Stephen’s Green. Chapters then made the move to north Dublin where it inhabited a shop on Henry St, and then Abbey St. Finally, it moved to its current location on Parnell St in 2006.
In October 2021, the bookshop put out a statement announcing that “after 40 years in business, @chaptersbooks will close its doors early in 2022.” Previous owner William Kinsella expressed “a sincere thank you to you all for your custom over 40 years in business” on behalf of himself and the staff.
Trinity’s Literary Society responded to the news on Twitter, saying: “This is a huge loss for Dublin and the LitSoc society. Chapters is loved by so many of our members and we are sad to hear it’s closing.”
