O’Mahony’s Booksellers makes longlist for bookshop of the year.
Limerick’s O’Mahony’s Booksellers has been longlisted for the An Post Bookshop of the Year Award 2026. The historic retailer is among 11 other bookshops across Ireland selected for the longlist, which was announced on September 30. The winning bookshop will be announced at the An Post Irish Book Awards on December 1.
The O’Mahony’s team were “genuinely delighted” with the news of their nomination. “There are so many brilliant bookshops around Ireland, so to be included on the longlist is a lovely bit of recognition for everyone here,” as explained by Director of Operations, Stephen O’Mahony.
An Post’s prestigious award celebrates and promotes bookshops across the country, recognising the passion and dedication of those behind them. The longlisted shops were voted on by dedicated bookworms around Ireland, “so knowing that people actually took the time to put O’Mahony’s forward means a lot to us.”
Community at the heart of bookselling
The bookseller has been in operation for over 120 years, serving the readers of Limerick for generations, which has developed a huge sense of connection with the local community. “A lot of our customers have been coming here for years – and in some cases we now have grandparents bringing their grandchildren in and telling us they remember coming into the shop themselves as children,” details O’Mahony. After so many years operating in the city, “it feels like it belongs a little bit to Limerick itself, so it has been great seeing local people genuinely happy for us.”
O’Mahony’s is now in its fourth generation, with Stephen and sister Clare O’Mahony joining in 2023. The family feel a great responsibility to look after the work of previous generations and dedicated staff while ensuring the shop develops for the next generation. “Whether that’s investing in the shop, expanding our children’s section, hosting new types of events or just finding new ways to get people excited about books.”
The current long-list will be cut down to a short-list featuring six of the bookshops, due to be announced on October 22, before the awards ceremony in Dublin on December 1.