Buy Local & Support Local Businesses

There are many reasons to celebrate LOVE this Valentine’s Day. We are able to be close to our loved ones, share moments, and do lots of fun stuff together. We checked in with our local business community and the festive buzz is all around us. Restaurants, card shops, jewellers, florist are all ready to make your celebration very memorable.

Without further ado, we share below stories of some of our favourite local businesses and their special offers for Valentine’s Day.

Hartley’s

Would you like to enjoy a special meal with your loved one? Then we have a perfect restaurant recommendation for you! Nestled on the corner of Harbour Road Hartley’s is a great place for a romantic meal. We had the pleasure in talking to their manager Karen and finding out more about this well known restaurant.

The restaurant was founded by two extraordinary chefs Julie Shiels and Kirsty Argyle back in 2007. Julie and Kirsty are fully qualified chefs with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. They’ve been working together for years and they are also partners in life. They originally had a restaurant in Blackrock and then moved to Dun Laoghaire. The restaurant is driven by the chefs’ point of view as their culinary skills are at the centre of all success they achieved. The staff is working on adjusting all other aspects of the experience in the restaurant to suit the menu these two amazing chefs created. Everything on the plate looks perfect and even the cocktail menu is customised regularly to go nicely with the ingredients used in the season.

The restaurant has a great passion for locally produced goods. They have a good connection with Irish farmers and producers, so whenever they can they make sure to use Irish products to prepare their menus. Karen jokingly said that they still haven’t found Irish tequila, but everything else is pretty much Irish.

The building is one of the oldest monuments in Dun Laoghaire and was the original train station for the world’s first ever suburban railway (tip – why not check out our historic walking tour for more info!). The outdoor space is gorgeous and set out for dining in an elegant way with an impressive view of the entire harbour. This turned out to be a big benefit as, unfortunately, the restaurant was damaged by fire in July so their indoor space remains closed while the repair work goes on.

Karen Corcoran, manager at Hartley’s

What’s special this Valentine’s Day from Hartley’s

Hartley’s run a Valentine’s Day special for cocktails. Last year they had a bloody Valentine with red orange and vanilla vodka so we can expect to have something equally interesting this year. The restaurant is not normally opened on Mondays, but for this Valentine’s day they are making an exception.

How to Make Reservation at Hartley’s

Hartley’s have an online reservations system which would be the easiest way to make a booking. You can also call at  (01) 280 6767 or send an email at [email protected].

Here’s where Hartley’s is located:

1 Harbour Rd, Dún Laoghaire

(01) 280 6767

Website

Google Reviews Hartley’s

Facet Jewellers

Jewellery is always a fantastic gift idea for Valentine’s Day. In this year’s Valentine’s Day feature we are delighted to present one of Dun Laoghaire’s long standing businesses that has brought us beautiful jewellery since 1978. We spoke to one of the family co-owners, Patrick Shannon, and he was kind enough to share his family business history with us.

Patrick’s brothers were jewellery apprentices. One learned to make jewellery here in Ireland, while another was honing his skills in London. Patrick himself studied marketing. They decided to join forces and together with their parents, they established a company that’s still going strong after almost 45 years.

What makes Facet Jewellers special is that they manufacture their own jewellery. They also pride themselves on treating their customers with top quality service and trying their best to look after their needs. They put an extra effort when producing custom orders, making special pieces of jewellery, and that’s something they excel at.

Facet Jewellers has a wide range at competitive prices thanks to the fact that they are located in their own building and don’t have to pay rent. The team at Facet Jewellery also do top quality repairs of watches and jewellery.

Patrick Shannon, co-owner at Facet Jewellers

What’s special this Valentine’s Day from Facet Jewellery

As of February 1, Facet Jewellers will offer a 10% discount on all engagement rings.

How to Buy From Facet Jewellers

Here’s where you can find Facet Jewellers:

1 Upper George’s Street, Dún Laoghaire

(01) 280 4106

Website

Google Reviews Facet Jewellers

O’Briens Wine

Sharing a nice bottle of wine on this special day and having a nice time with a loved one sounds like a great idea to us. Luckily there’s an Irish provider we can trust to help advise us on making a good wine selection. O’Brien Wines is a family-owned, Irish business, founded in 1944. It was a great pleasure to talk with their Dun Laoghaire manager Wayne and learn more about this superb Irish business.

O’Briens Wine has 34 stores nationwide. They specialise in wine, beer, and spirits. Many products sold in the store are exclusive to O’Briens. The business care deeply about bringing high-quality products to locals that differentiates them from what’s offered in supermarkets. You can count on both good quality and good value when in one of O’Briens stores. They also pride themselves on good customer service and knowledgeable staff. Their customers know that if they come in and need a recommendation on their wine choices, they’ll get advice and leave with the right product.

Wayne Curran, manager at O’Briens Wine Dun Laoghaire

What’s special this Valentine’s Day from O’Briens Wine

O’Briens has a special offer on many wine choices. They have a selection of champagne that’s on special pricing. Cuvee Brut, Moet & Chandon Brut, Beaumont des Crayeres are just some of them. Special promotions are available for beers and spirits as well.

O’Briens Wine also do hampers for anyone who wants to make a selection of craft beer as a Valentine’s Day gift.

How to Buy From O’Briens Wine

O’Briens Wine offers multiple ways of purchasing their products. It’s possible to order over website, click-and-collect option is available. It’s possible to call them at (01) 280 9827 and also collect the products in the store. They offer delivery service with the goods at your doorstep for 3-5 working days. Finally, people can pop-in the store in person to purchase the products.

Here’s where you can find O’Briens Wine:

Unit 3, Pavilion II, Dún Laoghaire

(01) 280 9827

Website

Google Reviews O’Briens Wines

Absolutely Fabulous Cards

Care to express how much you love someone with a lovely Valentine’s Day card? Dun Laoghaire has exactly what you were looking for. As the name suggests, Absolutely Fabulous Cards in the basement of Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre has a great range of cards for all occasions, including Valentine’s day, and their owner John kindly shared the story of his business with us.

John is in retail for a very long time. He opened Absolutely Fabulous Cards eight years ago in Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre. At first, John rented a unit to see how it would go, and because the business went quite well, he decided to stay. John is proud to say that he has many returning customers, coming back for the cards time and time again. On the other hand John stocks a large variety of cards from greeting cards to art range cards. John also does personalised cards where you can print a text of your choosing and make your card extra special.

John Garrigan, Owner at Absolutely Fabulous Cards

What’s special this Valentine’s Day from Absolutely Fabulous Cards

Absolutely Fabulous Cards has a great selection of Valentine’s Day cards for all people. For partners, husband, wife, boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancés, cards from child to parents, etc.

Prices start from €1 to €13 or €14. The shop has specials all the time. They do budget greeting cards, 3 for 2 specials, but you can also get very good quality cards for as little as €3.

How to Buy From Absolutely Fabulous Cards

To purchase cards from Absolutely Fabulous Cards stop by their shop.

Here’s where you can find Absolutely Fabulous Cards:

Unit 114/3, Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre, Marine Rd, Dún Laoghaire

086 3320700

Google Reviews Absolutely Fabulous Cards

F45 Training

F45 is an Australian franchise which first opened in Ireland in 2017 in Sandyford, Dublin. Since then the owners Brendan Spratt and Gavin McConnon have opened 6 more studios with Dun Laoghaire being the newest one. Jean is the sales manager for the brand and told us she first discovered it while she was traveling in Australia and she joined the gym as a member. Her first impressions were way beyond her expectations. She felt like she had never done training like F45’s before and found herself looking forward to going back to her next training. When she got back home to Ireland in 2018, F45 here was hiring for a sales manager position. Jean’s obvious passion for the brand and professionalism worked out and she became a member of the team.

Jean witnessed how training in F45 changes people’s lives every day. Especially in the last two years during the pandemic, it showed how much working out is important for both physical and mental health. Yes, people join the gym to lose weight, but more importantly, working out does a lot more for somebody’s headspace. With their approach you can get 45 minutes in a day just for yourself, taking care of your health and consequently feeling great after every session.

Jean feels like the community is the strongest asset of the F45 Training program. In the past few years, the F45 team managed to build amazing communities around each studio. People make good friends at F45, even meeting the love of their lives, and getting married in some cases. With Valentine’s day approaching it’s lovely to see bonds people are forming with each other.

Ella Dwyer, manager at F45 Training Dun Laoghaire

What’s special this Valentine’s Day from F45 Training

F45 Training is offering a Valentine’s day special, but not just for couples. If you are two best friends, or mother and daughter, or what ever type of couple F45 is happy to offer a discount on a monthly membership for the first 3 months. A full fee is €169 per month, but if two people join together they’ll be both discounted for €20 and pay only €149 per month for the membership.

This special offer is valid until St. Patrick’s day.

How to Become a Member at F45 Training

You can reach out to the gym over their Instagram account, website, phone number 01 5543645, or email at [email protected]. The best way to get the offer for couples is to reach out to Jean directly at [email protected]

Here’s where you can find F45 Training:

Marine Rd, Dún Laoghaire

01 5543645

Website

Google Reviews F45 Training

Lulabelle Flowers

If you are looking for a perfect bouquet of flowers for your partner, then Lulabelle Flowers on George’s Street has a great selection for you. Lulabelle Flowers is a flower and lifestyle Irish business. It is woman-led and family-owned. We were delighted to talk to our friend Betty and learn if there are some news in her shop. Betty was proud to announce that her shop is plastic free. That means everything is compostable and there’s zero waste. Betty also owns a Good Vibes Coffee shop where you can also order flowers for Valentine’s Day or any other occasion.

Betty proudly spoke of championing Irish and women-owned businesses in her store and how important that is to her. All her greenery is from the counties of Kerry and Wexford. She was born in Dun Laoghaire and she is the 4th generation from Dun Laoghaire. The name of the shop is inspired by Betty’s childhood nickname, her mom called her Lulabelle.

Being a local, independent and small family business gives our community the advantage of speaking to Betty directly when we need flowers from her. She is the one answering the phone, making bouquets, and welcoming us to the shop. She also made the website and the whole experience with her business from start to finish. Everyone buying from her shop not only buys from Lulabelle Flowers but also helps other Dun Laoghaire and Irish businesses stay sustainable as almost everything stocked in the shop is proudly Irish.

Betty Stuart, owner Lulabelle Flowers

What’s special this Valentine’s Day from Lulabelle Flowers

For Valentine’s Day, Lulabelle Flowers has Valentine’s Day Designer Choice arrangements available for ordering and delivering now. Filled with lush foliage from Wexford and Kerry and blooms of pink, purples, greens, and whites, with pops of red.

They have their own signature range of candles and bath soaps made in Dun Laoghaire that they sell in the shop. They also sell natural soy wax candles, eucalyptus, and grapefruit candles for Valentine’s Day. Wexford chocolate and Galway truffle are available as well. Flowers, candles, soaps, chocolate, and Valentine’s Day cards are all Irish products.

How to Buy From Lulabelle Flowers

You can pre-order flowers online or just stop by the shop in person.

Here’s where you can find Lulabelle Flowers:

31 George’s Street Lower, Dún Laoghaire

(01) 284 4354

Website

Google Reviews Lulabelle Flowers

Ready to Buy a Special Gift For Someone You Love?

You don’t have to go far away or online for that matter in order to impress someone you love. Everything you need for romance and more is right here in our lovely town. Anything you pick from the recommended options would be wonderful and thoughtful gift. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thank you for supporting our Dun Laoghaire business community!

Please note that all participants in the above photos kindly met at their business location by appointment in a socially distanced manner and temporarily removed their face masks to pose for the photos for this feature.

For a list of all the retail outlets in our town please see our Dún Laoghaire Town business directory.

Would you like us to include your business in future Love Dún Laoghaire features?

We would be delighted to, please send an email to [email protected] with details of your location in Dún Laoghaire and we will be in touch. 

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