Cookstown butchers celebrating 125 years in the town as owner speaks of pride in its success

A Cookstown butcher who runs a shop which has been a mainstay on the high street for 125 years has spoken of his pride at reaching the milestone.

MacMahon’s Butchers has been present in the Co Tyrone town since 1896, initially owned by the MacMahon family but now in the hands of local butcher Colly Donnelly, who has worked in the shop for the last 35 years.

Generations of customers from Cookstown and the surrounding areas have come through the doors of MacMahon’s, and Colly told MyTyrone that that history is part of the reason why people keep coming back.

“I feel like I’ve been here from the start but I’ve not. It was opened by Joseph MacMahon who was a Coalisland native who came to Cookstown on market day selling beef out of the back of a horse and trap,” Colly told MyTyrone.

“He gathered the money up and bought his own building, which was purpose built as a butcher shop.

“The success of the shop is that it has moved on with the times over the years, and it has always been that way.

“There are people coming in here in their 60s and telling me about coming in with their parents and grandparents, and they are lovely wee stories to hear.”

Starting to work in the butcher shop at just 15, Colly has progressed up the ranks and took over MacMahon’s 11 years ago.

His crowning achievement was being part of the Irish team at the World Butcher Challenge in 2018 which managed to bring home the bacon.

“I started here when I was 15 and I’m here 35 years now," he said.

"My uncle was a butcher and used to work in here, and I remember noticing he always had a nice car and I thought there must be something in this butchering business.

“That’s what got me in here then and I just turned 50 last year so a long time in one place but I love it and it’s a big part of my life.

“I took the place over 11 years ago now, I’ve been here a long time and it’s going well.”

Colly added that the butchers has embedded itself into the fabric of the local community over the years.

“We would work with local charities and in the local community, and there are local people that come in here who maybe haven’t spoken to anybody for days," he said.

“They always love coming in for a wee chat and would be very friendly with the staff.

“The first few years were tough enough but I’ve brought a lot of my own ideas into the shop myself and thankfully it has gone well since then.”