Murnaghan Tyres is an exceptional family-run business which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. We popped into their modern depot in the beautiful Cooley peninsula and caught up with John and Martin Jnr. to discuss the history of this outstanding operation as well as the wide range of products and services offered to customers across Louth, Armagh, Monaghan and beyond.
Ideally located just off the main Dundalk – Carlingford Road (R173), close to the Armagh border, nestling in the foothills of the Cooley Mountains, County Louth based Murnaghan Tyres provides unrivalled tyre repair and replacement services to motorists and farmers / contractors in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
By offering customers prompt, dependable and cost-effective products and services, the family-run business has been able to grow from strength to strength over the past four decades. They have continuously moved with the times, updating and modernising their equipment and services as and when required, and their policy of never seeing a customer stuck at any time of morning or night has reaped dividends – to the extent where Murnaghans are now widely recognised as the No.1 car, commercial vehicle and agri tyre men in the greater Louth / Armagh / Down / Monaghan catchment area.
Farmers and contractors from within a 20-mile radius of the Cooley peninsula have been benefiting from Murnaghan Tyres’ top-class, expert service since 1976, safe in the knowledge that – coming from a strong farming background themselves – the Murnaghan family understand and appreciate the needs of agricultural machinery owners and operators, and respond accordingly.
Importing all brands of tyres, Murnaghan Tyres offer fast puncture repairs and tyres fitted while the vehicle owner waits, be that in their state-of-the-art North Louth facility, which is opened from 9-6 six days per week, or at the side of the road courtesy of the busy, fully-kitted mobile breakdown unit which is on call 24/7. Wheel balancing and alignment services are also provided to make sure that every customer is 100% safe and secure.
Reflecting on the genesis of the family business, director John Murnaghan notes: “Our 40th anniversary is coming up this September. My father, Seamus, and his twin brother, Martin, set the tyre business up and indeed they are still very much involved today. We started as a small operation buying tyres and tubes down the country for small cars and it grew from there. Every time there was a change in the tyre industry, with new technology like tubeless tyres or run-flats introduced, we adapted and moved with that. The customer is never wrong and you have to offer the products and services that he / she wants.”
Murnaghans specialise in tyres for cars, light and heavy commercials, and agricultural machinery – from individual tyres to sets of four to entire fleets – as well as offering a wholesale service. Although they are most active in the North Louth / border region, they provide a nationwide service through their network of carefully-selected network partners. “If a customer from Cooley – or anywhere else, for that matter – gets a flat tyre in Cork, we will get them sorted out in double-quick time,” John confirms.
Ongoing investment has enabled the business to remain at the cutting edge of the tyre industry for 40 years and counting. “We’ve invested a lot of money in the premises, the huge stock of tyres, latest tyre-fitting machines, wheel balancers, laser alignment and the breakdown van,” says Martin Jnr. “That is a necessity if you want to continue to give your customers an excellent service.”
At present, four members of the Murnaghan family work full-time in the tyre business – Martin Snr., Seamus, John and James – with Martin Jnr. always available to lend a helping hand. Regarding the secret of the business’ ongoing success over the years, the latter comments: “You have to be versatile and flexible. Also, we have always been competitive for customers from both sides of the border. You have to be competitive and you also have to offer a good-quality service. We’re here for generations now and we have gained a great deal of experience. As well as that, we are hands-on and always available, so customers have the peace of mind of dealing directly with those who are involved in the running of the business.”
Due the current strength of Sterling, cross-border trade is brisk. “We’re getting good business from the other side of the border for the past six or seven years,” says John. “We’re close to the border and it’s convenient for a lot of customers in the North to deal with us.”
The team is on call around the clock, come rain, wind or snow. “We work every day – Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day were no different. There were a few unfortunate souls who got in trouble and we got them back on the road again.”
Regarding the agri work, for which Murnaghan Tyres are particularly renowned, Martin Jnr. states: “As farmers ourselves, it’s something we’ve always done. Generally, the customers tend to be closer to home, but we’ll go wherever we’re needed.
“We do the full range of agri tyres, for tractors and machinery, from the Ferguson 20 and John Deere, Massey, Case etc. to combine harvesters, balers, diggers etc. There’s a great vintage tradition here in Cooley and a great farming tradition so it’s a big part of our business. We carry a huge stock but in the event of us not having a tyre in stock we can guarantee next-day delivery.”
Generally speaking, are agri machinery operators more concerned with price or quality: “Both. We deal with a lot of farmers with small-to-medium herds as well as large tillage farmers, so it all depends on the individual’s needs. The bigger contractors and farmers will tend to go with premium tyres, but there’s demand for everything. It depends on what they want it for. We offer a full range and we also advise customers accordingly depending on the work they are going to be doing. We won’t see any of our customers wrong.”
The Murnaghan family also farms in excess of 170 acres – 120 of their own plus conacre. “It’s mainly beef but we also do a bit of tillage,” John concludes. “We have a field of winter barley in here at the moment as well as some spring barley and potatoes.
“We kill 120-150 cattle per year. They’re bought in from the marts in Carnaross and Ardee and then fattened and killed. We don’t do any sucklers.
“Our family has always been involved in farming. My grandfather was a farmer and his father before him and that was where the tyre business developed from initially.”
Murnaghan Tyres,
Rathcor,
Riverstown,
Dundalk,
County Louth.
Tel: 042 9376205 / 9376373
Fax: 042 9376205
Mobile:
087 2123408 / 6737620
Email: [email protected]
www.murnaghantyres.com
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 2, February 2016
