Tesco urged to go for full Irish on new supermarket

British retail giant Tesco has been urged to provide Irish-language self-service checkout tills at its new Galway Gaeltacht store.

The company acquired nine Joyce’s Supermarkets across Galway earlier this year and is in the process of rebranding and redesigning them as Tesco stores.

Among the supermarkets is ‘Siopa an Phobail’ in Indreabhán, in the Conamara Gaeltacht.

Conradh na Gaeilge this week urged Tesco to provide an Irish language self-service checkout at its Indreabhán store, which is the first-ever Tesco in the Gaeltacht.

Bearna-based Irish language news agency, Tuairisc.ie reported that Conradh na Gaeilge has recommended Irish-language self-service checkouts be installed in Indreabhán, similar to those available in Welsh-speaking areas of Wales.

Tesco has bilingual signs at its Galway City stores and issues bilingual press releases.

A spokesperson for Tesco Ireland confirmed to the Connacht Tribune that it has engaged with Údarás na Gaeltachta about taking over the Indreabhán shop and petrol station.

“We have begun the process to rebrand and redesign the Joyce’s Supermarkets as Tesco stores across Galway which will take place on a phased basis over the coming months. We’re delighted to confirm that in line with our community ethos, we will continue to operate Siopa an Phobail at Indreabhán.

“We are engaged with Údarás na Gaeltachta to ensure we’re responding to the needs of the Gaeltacht community and how best to support our new colleagues and customers as our integration begins,” a Tesco Ireland spokesperson said.

She said that services provided at Indreabhán, including the petrol filling station will be retained.

“During the transition process, we will be delighted to welcome employees from Joyce’s stores to the Tesco team.

We will continue to keep customers and communities updated on the impact of refurbishment on store operations. We look forward to opening our Tesco store at Indreabhán later this year and thank the customers and communities for their patience while refurbishment works are carried out. We look forward to serving the community for many years to come,” she added.