Although she originally hails from Rockvale, Co Clare, Mary Bennett is an icon of Galway business; now in her mid-eighties, she only retired after selling her iconic shop, Treasure Chest in 2022. But she certainly hasn’t been idling since, keeping busy as ever with charitable ventures. After over 50 years in business, she doesn’t know any other way. Here she shares some of her favourite memories and best advice, from her full and impactful life in business.

Customer Service

Bennett began her career in the Great Southern Hotel and still credits the hotel trade with instilling a penchant for doing things to perfection and a level of customer-focused service that would serve anyone well, regardless of their business. It was while at the hotel that she began running a little gift shop, selling Irish crafts under the stairs. It was a novel idea at the time and one that took off. “The best thing I ever did was to get into the hotel,” she says, of her early training ground. “You have to do everything and everything has to be done properly.”

Finding a Way Around Blocks

However, her career could have stalled there, as she left the hotel in 1961 after marrying her husband Eddie. While the Marriage Bar was only strictly enforced in civil service and education until 1973, the societal expectation for married women to give up work was still strong across the private sector. However, where there’s a will there’s a way and it didn’t stop budding entrepreneurs from setting up their own business.

Bennett first set up a guest house in Salthill the year after her wedding and in 1966, she took on a lease on a shop in Galway, which was the beginnings of the Treasure Chest.

Her ability to plough through in a male-dominated business environment speaks to her determination and the changing attitudes toward women’s roles in society during that era.

Take it Step by Step

From leasing her first shop premises, to buying and then extending over the years, she built the Treasure Chest up bit by bit. “I never had a plan,” she says. “I never wanted to overload myself. I progressed slowly, but every year I needed to have progressed a little and that was my mission… everything we made went into the shop.”

Seek Out Quality

The shop became an integral part of Galway’s retail scene, offering high-quality Irish gifts, crafts and fashion. Located on Shop Street, one of Galway’s busiest and most central shopping areas, the store stood out not just for its quality products, but also for its distinctive window displays and personal customer service.

Over the years, Bennett’s shop became an iconic tourist destination and an essential shopping destination for locals too, with its mix of Irish craft and artisan products, gifts and fashions. Bennett’s vision and dedication to quality helped make Treasure Chest a landmark in Galway’s city centre.

Stand Out

It was a trip to New Orleans, where she took part in the St Patrick’s Day parade and observed some of the highly decorative architecture there, that inspired the iconic highly decorated exterior of Treasure Chest – the Wedgewood blue and decorative plasterwork swagging was surely one of the most memorable shop exteriors in Ireland.

Bennett’s care for the streetscape extended to campaigning for a removal of neon signage from stores in the city centre and she came up with an excellent motivator for other shopkeepers who came on board with her urban beautification plans – the shopfronts were photographed and became part of a bestselling poster of Galway shopfronts.

The Power of Networks

Over the years Bennett has been active participant in business life beyond her own shop floor, not just in Galway, but also on an international level. Attempting to detail the scope and breadth of her CV would turn this article into a very lengthy list, but to give an idea, over the years, she has participated not only in Galway Chamber (as President and also serving two years as National President of Chambers Ireland); helped set up and served as executive chair of Galway Tourism and the international network of tourism professionals Skal, of which she became the first female World President in 2002; she has also held directorships of Ireland West Tourism, Bord Failte and Aer Lingus. She was presented with the freedom of the city of Galway in 2011, an honour she shares with Douglas Hyde, Eamonn de Valera, Hillary Clinton and Ronald Regan, among other notables.

She advises anyone in business to get involved with local networks. “You can learn so much from them,” she says. “Be curious and always keep your mind open to what you can see happening around you, keep an eye on the development that goes on and how they progress it.” Like a heat-seeking missile, Bennett suggests “Always try and be involved with somebody that’s creative or that you feel they have initiative.”

She adds: “I think it’s important to work in projects locally, whether it might be the local Chamber, or whatever it is, help and get enthusiastic about the work they do, and this way that people will seek you out and help you as you go.”

Moving with the Times

From travelling the world, Bennett found beautiful products abroad and expanded her range from Irish crafts, always conscious of keeping up with changing customer needs.

“When I started, it was all shamrocks and the Irish harps on products. As we progressed in business, we had to continually move forward and changed to stocking best of gifts that we could find, be they European or otherwise, for weddings, birthdays and christenings. Then the wedding gift section became far more practical; people getting married wanted useful products and a lot of them wanted cash, which killed a certain amount of gifting,” she explains as an example of how her stock evolved over the years.

She recalls with fondness her innovative Christmas shop, with high–quality decorations imported from the US, long before such a range was widely available. “In the beginning we were unique and we made our name with quality,” she says. But nowadays, for many customers, cost is more important than quality or provenance, and retail has changed.

Know When to Cash in Your Chips

After over 50 years of running the landmark Galway store, Bennett made the decision to sell the Treasure Chest in 2022. As she tells it, it wasn’t her wish to slow down that spurred the decision, rather that it was becoming harder to find the kind of quality craft products she wanted to sell, at prices that made business sense. The challenges facing retail with rising costs for quality products and the global shift towards fast fashion led to a decline in demand for and availability of Irish-made items.

The Treasure Chest closing marked the end of an era for one of Galway’s longest-running and best-loved businesses. “I enjoyed every minute,” she says of her career, “because I love something different and I love to be on top of what I’m doing. I’m not a perfectionist, but I try to find the right way to do something because that was the culture I was brought up in.”

Mary Bennett’s career is a testament to her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to supporting local culture and craftsmanship. The Treasure Chest wasn’t just a shop; it was a symbol of Galway’s vibrancy, attracting tourists from around the world and becoming a key part of the city’s commercial history. Through her dedication to showcasing Irish-made products, Bennett helped preserve and promote Irish heritage on a local and international scale.

While her direct involvement in retail has come to an end, her impact continues through the legacy of Treasure Chest and her influence on Galway’s business landscape. Truly, an icon of Irish business and tourism.