H Williams (supermarket)
Introduction '''H Williams''' was a supermarket chain in Ireland founded as a grocer in the late 19th century. In 1959 it opened the first supermarket in Ireland, in Dublin's Henry Street. Though publicly listed on the Dublin Stock Exchange for many years, the Quinn-McArdle family controlled its board and provided most of its senior management. In the early 1980s it was sold to a its managing director, John Quinn, and property developer Finbarr Holland. H Williams collapsed in 1987, following a price war that led to the 1987 amendment to the Groceries Order in an effort to protect the market from further concentration. The former H Williams supermarkets were sold to other supermarket chains. H Williams' head office was situated in Dundrum, Dublin.Other Dublin stores included ones located in Rathmines, Terenure, Tallaght (now a Lidl) and Killester. Outside Dublin, there was a store in Mullingar – the present-day Fairgreen Shopping Centre is located on its former site.
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