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aureen McGuinness is one of those legendary Dubli
n characters. She’s been running her store, simply titled Maureen’s Shop, for 39 years. In the process, she’s become a Stoneybatter institution. Maureen’s a figure who earns equal parts admiration and disdain. Over the years, she’s cultivated a reputation that might politely be described as no-nonsense – there’s many a tale about her making a pointed comment to a customer or barring someone from the shop over a can of beans. But just as often, people share stories of her helping the community in ways big and small, whether that’s making deliveries to the elderly or vouching for people looking for jobs. When you talk to Maureen these days, she doesn’t hold back on her bleak outlook on the neighbourhood. There’s no doubt that it’s contributed to her decision to sell the shop after 39 years. But today she’s all smiles, because she’s joined by her neighbour and friend Ray O’Neill, owner of Slice next door. Ray and Maureen make for an odd couple straight out of some some tired sitcom: she’s the elderly Dublin shopkeeper with a pessimistic streak; he’s the exuberant gay blow-in with a fancy café that might be described as having “notions.” And yet they’ve developed a strong friendship over the last couple of years. Born in Roscommon, Maureen came to Dublin nearly 50 years ago. Unlikely as it seems, she started out as a darkroom technician in Temple Street Hospital. The radiologist recommended she study further, but in her own words she “freaked at the sight of blood.” When she first moved to Dublin, Maureen lived in a 13 room bedsit which terrified her. Every night she would check the wardrobes, the cupboards, even under the bed before she went to sleep. It’s a far cry from the hardy shopkeeper who operates on the corner of Manor Place. Eventually she started working for RTE, a job that quickly frayed her nerves. After her auntie fell ill, her father asked her how she could make more money for the family. That led to the opening of Maureen’s Shop. When Maureen is asked how she’s stayed open so long while others have come and gone, she shrugs her shoulders. “I just took it in me stride,” she says. “Just built things up.” Ray is a more recent addition to the area. He’s the owner of Slice Café, which serves muesli as well as spiced carrot and walnut pancakes, not exactly in-keeping with the quintessential Dublin business which Maureen represents. Ray used to work in online advertising, but he eventually yearned to do something more fulfilling. “I was in Cork selling some landscape gardener advertisements in my car and it got to the point where he said ‘no’. Normally that’s the point where you fight for the sale and tell someone why they need it and all that bullshit. But I didn’t. They got out, walked away from the car, and I was like, ‘You know what, I’m 46