By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Molly Malone’s Irish Gifts at 295 Canada St. in Lake George is under new ownership.
Owner Robin McDonough has owned an Irish gift store in Troy, The Counties of Ireland, for almost 20 years.
“My family is Irish and I’d travelled back and forth to Ireland to vacation and to purchase different gift lines to bring home,” said McDonough. “Most are small cottage, craft industry vendors who may not have a retailer in the United States. I told myself I was going to open an Irish store, and six months later, in Troy, I did. Twenty years later, I’m still here.”
Previous owner Bill Manion reached out to McDonough when he began planning his retirement. Manion and McDonough knew of each other through networking, trade shows and a sharing of mutual customers.
She said the Lake George store will have “new product lines that will mimic what we’ve been carrying in the Troy store for the past 20 years. We’ll bring in sweaters, blankets, new jewelry lines, things from the small cottage craft industry. Some sweets, teas and biscuits. We’ll be introducing new jewelers and a new giftware line that wasn’t necessarily stocked before.”
McDonough travels back and forth from Ireland every year to do the buying for her inventory.
“I’m excited to introduce some new lines in Lake George that the Adirondack customers haven’t seen before,” she said.
McDonough is keeping Manion’s seasoned retail team in place. She is splitting her time between her two stores.
Molly Malone’s is currently operating on winter hours. Summer hours will begin to extend starting in April. The store will be open for expanded summer hours seven days a week, starting just before Memorial Day.
“I’m just so excited to be up in Lake George, and I’m so excited to have a sister store. It’s such a beautiful area. It’s a learning curve for me, and I’m excited what 2020 will bring in that area.”
The business website is mollymalonesirishgifts.com.