Irish Bakery Closure
Gallagher’s Bakery, based in Ardara, County Donegal, is closing its frozen bread section with the loss of 124 jobs. Gallagher’s specialises in producing part baked frozen breads under the French Mill brand for the in-store bakery and hot food delicatessen market in Ireland and abroad. The company is also a leading regional baker of fresh bread, with the Gallagher’s brand well known in the north west of Ireland.
Established by the Gallagher family in 1968, the company has been part of international bakery group Aryzta since 2007.
Some frozen bread production from Ardara is being transferred to the Dublin bakery of the parent group. A further 65 jobs may be saved if Gallagher’s fresh bread operation is sold and some employees are redeployed to Dublin.
“There has been a serious market contraction in Ireland and the UK in recent years. Increasingly difficult market conditions, increased commodity costs, declining sales and reduced product prices have put immense pressure on the business,” says Declan Gallagher, managing director of Gallagher’s Bakery. The Donegal bakery’s competitiveness in the UK market has also been undermined by the weakness of sterling.
