Running a one-stop outlet for outdoors enthusiasts

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

With people’s lifestyles constantly evolving – many becoming more and more health conscious – other engaging pursuits outside of mainstream sports have now become viable alternatives. One of the first stops in Galway in this respect is, inevitably, The Great Outdoors.

Be it hill walking, climbing, diving, surfing, camping, canoeing or diving, The Great Outdoors, located where the old Five-Star Supermarket once was on Eglinton Street in the city, has been catering for all those since the business diversified from mainstream into adventure sports in the early 1980s.

Affable owner Cecil Foy, who had set up the business in 1978 as a general sports shop, explains it was imperative the business changed direction with the growth of major sporting outlets like Elvery’s, with which he used to work for, and Lifestyle Sports. The local retailer, he felt, was being squeezed out.

“All the big sports chains started opening up 20, 30 and 40 stores – we were a small independent store – so we had to change because we couldn’t compete with them. That was how we got into the outdoor business. That kind of established itself in 1980 or thereabouts,” he explains.

“Today, we do climbing, diving, camping, all sorts of activities other than the general sports, from which  most guys will finish up at 35 or 40, whether they are playing football, rugby or tennis. Some of them often look then to see what they can do which won’t be too strenuous and hill walking and all that kind of stuff offers that. It is the next progression for some.”

Of course, adventure sports also offer a viable alternative to those who don’t feel comfortable in competitive team settings or, indeed, are unable to marry their need for activity with the quite often banalities of competitive individual pursuits.

Athlone native Foy, who has lived in Galway since 1974, notes with every newspaper running articles these days about longevity, nutrition and the importance of exercise, more and more people are coming into his store seeking advice and looking to buy the appropriate gear.

“When we had the general sports store, we catered for seven, eight, nine or 10 different types of sports. It was easy. You didn’t necessarily have to advise a guy about the kind of football boots he was buying or, indeed, the jersey he wanted to wear. He was either Man United or whichever. It was all pretty straightforward.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.