{"id":342077,"date":"2026-03-12T08:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/342077\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T08:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:48:08","slug":"end-of-an-era-as-cavanaghs-of-fermoy-on-the-market-for-e1-5m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/342077\/","title":{"rendered":"End of an era as Cavanagh’s of Fermoy on the market for \u20ac1.5m"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well-known motor dealership Cavanagh\u2019s, in Fermoy, has been put on the market for \u20ac1.5m following a decision to enter voluntary liquidation.<\/p>\n

The decision to sell the substantial premises on the Cork Road marks the end of an era, as Cavanagh\u2019s has been synonymous with Fermoy for more than a century.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War, by Tom Cavanagh Sr, it\u2019s been a household name across the East Cork town for generations \u2014 operating initially from a garage at Ashe Quay, north of the town centre.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe late Tom Cavanagh Jr, whose father, Tom Sr, started the family business in 1919.<\/p>\n

In 1938, the business became a Ford main dealer, later segueing into the farm machinery business as a New Holland dealer. It has been actively involved in selling and servicing agricultural machinery since 1950.<\/p>\n

In 1954, Tom Cavanagh Jr took over from his father, serving as managing director of the Cavanagh motor group, from where he oversaw its diversification.<\/p>\n

Better known as Dr Tom Cavanagh \u2014 founder of Irish Business Against Litter and of the Tomar Trust, set up to support voluntary activity in rural Ireland, and in disadvantaged communities in Cork City \u2014 the late philanthropist and businessman stepped down from the family business in 1986, although he maintained a keen interest.<\/p>\n

At the turn of the millennium, the company continued to expand operations and relocated to Cork Road.<\/p>\n

Today, its turnkey showroom and workshop extends to approximately 2,292sq m (24,680sq ft) with ancillary parts section, offices, and staff facilities.<\/p>\n

Speaking in recent weeks to The Avondhu, dealer principal Frank Hogbin confirmed that Cavanagh\u2019s exited the Ford franchise in 2024, as it was \u201cno longer viable\u201d, along with other factors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2024, Cavanagh\u2019s made the decision to exit the Ford franchise as it was no longer viable as a sole passenger car outlet, combined with other commercial factors relating to the Ford franchise at the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the New Holland agricultural business continued to perform well, it was difficult for it to survive as a standalone business unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, with the absence of successors to continue the business, the difficult decision to cease trading was taken in January 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dealership closed to new business on February 27, with a winding down process, due to warranty obligations and remaining stock. It has now entered voluntary liquidation.<\/p>\n

Handling the sale are Sam Kingston and Declan Hickey of Casey and Kingston. Mr Kingston said as the site is \u201can established motor dealership location and up to recently traded very successfully, it is perfect for operators looking to expand to a modern facility\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe dealership, on the Cork Road, could suit an operator looking to expand to a modern facility, or could also suit conversion to another type of showroom such as furniture.<\/p>\n

Mr Hickey added that with the benefit of vacant possession, \u201cit would also suit conversion to another type of showroom, such as furniture or as a trade outlet or for storage\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also benefits from good connectivity, being close to the town centre and the M8 Cork to Dublin Road,\u201d he said, adding that \u201dthe guide price at \u20ac60 [per square foot] is a fraction of the cost of building a facility to a similar standard\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were starting on a greenfield site, it could conservatively cost \u20ac5m,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cavanagh\u2019s dealership is on a high-profile, 1.8-acre site, with more than 100m of road frontage onto the Cork Road along with extensive car parking and open storage areas.<\/p>\n

The showroom and office area extends to 11,180sq ft, while the workshop and the parts area have a floor area of 13,500sqft.<\/p>\n

The workshop area has high eaves and three roller doors, along with three phase power.<\/p>\n

The agents say the premises \u201ccould easily be subdivided into smaller lots as both the workshop and showroom could operate as standalone units\u201d.<\/p>\n

The site is zoned \u201cexisting mixed\/general business\/industrial uses [MGB]\u201d which is designed to \u201cfacilitate development that supports in general the employment uses of the existing mixed\/general business\/industrial areas\u201d.<\/p>\n

The property is about 1km from Fermoy town centre and approximately 2km from the M8 Cork Dublin Road.<\/p>\n

The agents point out that Fermoy town \u201chas grown rapidly in recent years due to its proximity and accessible to Cork City\u201d and that Tesco has recently opened a new store on the old mart site in the town centre at a cost of \u20ac20m.<\/p>\n

DETAILS: Declan Hickey, email: dhickey@caseyandkingston.ie<\/a>. Sam Kingston, email: skingston@caseyandkingston.ie<\/a>. Telephone: 0214271127.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Well-known motor dealership Cavanagh\u2019s, in Fermoy, has been put on the market for \u20ac1.5m following a decision to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,31915,61,60],"class_list":["post-342077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-commercial-property-munster-to-let","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}