Eason has a proud history and heritage dating back 140 years and has existed through some of the most exciting events in Irish history. Below we have highlighted some milestones in our history.
1800sEason O'Connell Street
1856 - Charles Eason I is appointed as the manager of the Eden Quay branch of W.H. Smith & Son.
1886 - Company premises on Middle Abbey Street were rebuilt to accommodate wholesale and retail news, books and stationery departments.
1886 - The business is bought by Charles Eason I who, together with his son, form it into a private company under the title of “Eason & Son, Limited.”
1887 - Premises are purchased at 40 Lower Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) from which the retail news, advertising, library and railway advertising departments operate from.
1889 - Charles Eason I passes away and is succeeded by his son Charles Eason II then aged 46.
1900sEason O'Connell Street 1916
1916 - The Abbey Street and O'Connell Street premises are destroyed by fire during the Easter Rising.
1916 - Christopher Whelan was hit and killed by a stray army bullet having returned home from the Eason store which was forced to close due to the rising.
1916 - The extent of the damage to O'Connell Street and Abbey Street premises can be measured by Eason’s compensation claim of £63,329 of which they will receive £55,850.
1916 - Eason employees present Charles Eason II with a complete set of office furniture for his private office as an expression of their sympathy with him for the serious losses sustained by the company during the Rising and in recognition of the firm paying all salaries during the suspension of business.
1919 - The Abbey Street and O'Connell Street premises are rebuilt and reopened as a single interlocking group, now including an extension to 41 Lower O'Connell Street, from which Eason still trade today.
1926 - J.C.M. Eason succeeds his father as Managing Director.
1930sEason Delivery Vans
Advertising space is sold Eason delivery vans for the first time.
The “Emergency” disrupts Eason wholesale business significantly as newspaper supply and cross-channel transport is continuously hindered. Eason order 4 electric vehicles at outbreak of war anticipating fuel shortages
1950sJCM Eason
1957 - J.C.M. Eason retires (aged 77) and is succeeded by James Walmsley
1965 - Eason Advertising Service Ltd. established
English newspapers shipped to Ireland by air for the first time
Eason cash & carry opened at Corporation Street in Dublin for stationery and other goods
1966 - Eason look to expand into high street retailing with the opening of shops in Cork in 1963 and Dun Laoghaire.
1970sAn Original Eason Railway Bookstall
1970 - Eason continue to grow their retail estate with store openings in Limerick in 1970 and Belfast in 1971. By the late 70s retail sales account for half of the company’s total turnover.
1978 - The last of the Eason railway bookstalls closes in Waterford.
1990sEason Blanchardstown Centre
1990 - Eason open stores in The Square Tallaght and Castlecourt, Belfast, followed by stores in Bangor (1993) and Derry- Londonderry (1995)
1995 - 1995 - The Net Book Agreement (of setting retail prices for books) is abandoned
1996 - 1996 - Eason stores open in the Blanchardstown Centre and Busáras
1998 - 1998 - Eason’s store in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre opens
2000sRoy Keane in Conversation with Roddy Doyle
2001 - The first midnight opening for a Harry Potter book takes place in Eason O’Connell street.
2005 - New Eason stores open in Dundrum, Mahon and Ballincollig Shopping Centres.
2007 - Eason Head Office and warehousing relocates to Dublin Airport Logistics Park in St. Margarets, Swords.
2011 - Eason celebrates its 125th anniversary, the annual Eason Spelling Bee competition launches and Eason introduce the “Thank You” loyalty programme.
2012 - new format flagship stores open in Eason Belfast and Patrick St. Cork.
2013 - The first “Easonology” department is launched in O'Connell Street and is aimed at stimulating the mind to do better, to do more, to find out, to achieve, to learn, to create, to solve & to win.
2013 - Eason host Alex Ferguson in conversation with Eamon Holmes in the Dublin Convention Centre to the delight of over 2000 fans in attendance.
2014 - Department 51 is launched in Eason as a destination for Young Adult books, graphic novels and pop culture and licensed merchandise.
Roy Keane in conversation with Roddy Doyle is hosted by Eason at the RDS in Dublin with over 1500 fans in attendance.2016 - Eason’s place in the Easter Rising of 1916 is commemorated in Eason O'Connell Street and Eason are recognised as Children’s Bookseller of the Year at the British Bookseller Awards held in London.
- 2020s
Celebrating 140 Years of Eason
2020 - Dubray joins the Eason family, bringing its distinctive bookshops, knowledgeable booksellers and passion for reading into our shared story.
2021 - As COVID-19 restrictions change how we shop, more customers turn to easons.com, while stores adapt to help keep communities connected and bring books, activities and gifts into homes across Ireland.
2023 - Dubray welcomes The Gutter Bookshop’s stores in Dublin and Dalkey. Both retain their much-loved name, continuing their story as part of our wider bookselling family.
2025 - Eason commissions Amárach Research to explore the reading experiences of children and families across Ireland. From treasured bedtime routines to the challenges of screen time, the findings help us understand what matters to families and how to support a lifelong love of books.
2026 - We celebrate 140 years of Eason & Son: our Irish heritage, generations of readers and the pleasure of discovering something new. Thank you for being part of our story.
