23/09/2026
A CHANGE IS IN THE AIR (Well, Sort of)…
Hey just Seany D here with a bit of an update about O’Shedigans.
O’Shedigans is being sold.
The new owner?
Still Seany D.
Yeah, random aye.
Same O’Shedigans.
Same staff.
Same hours.
Same b**rs.
Same products.
Same Seany D owner.
For our staff, customers and suppliers, it’s business as usual.
SO WHY THE CHANGE?
Well… Bridge Street has been a roadworks warzone for what feels like forever, and like plenty of other businesses down here, we've taken a hiding from it.
SO… ARE YOU BROKE?
No.
Suppliers are paid. Staff have been paid every week. The regular commitments are being met, and longer-term creditors have been willing to work with me through the inconvenience of road works lasting well over a year.
Well… all except the big bad IRD.
SO YOU HAVEN’T PAID YOUR TAXES?
It's a bit more complicated than that.
Like plenty of hospitality businesses that traded through COVID, I came out the other side carrying historic debt from periods where businesses were closed or operating under heavy restrictions.
Since then I have traded, and spent years working through the old stuff under repayment plans quite happily.
And just to be clear — repaying what was decided the business owed has always been the plan. To be fair its still my preferred outcome.
But repayment plans only work while the business has the cashflow to maintain them. When the Bridge Street roadworks hit, sales dropped then those arrangements needed to change, it was back on the phone to the big bad wolf.
This time, though, the wolf wasn't interested in a new plan. With penalties and interest continuing to pile on, eventually you reach a point where continuing to throw time and energy at an arrangement that is no longer sustainable isn't actually helping the business — it's putting the business, the staff, the suppliers and everything else at risk.
So yes, paying the old debt was absolutely the preferred option. Restructuring became the plan when the other option was no longer available.
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
This is probably the point where a lot of small-business owners might recoil.
I am far too stubborn for that.
So I went looking for another option.
And here it is:
I buy my own bar.
Staff, suppliers and creditors who are continuing with us move forward with the new business, and O’Shedigans carries on trading.
The old company will ultimately go through liquidation once the transition is completed.
WILL O’SHEDIGANS CLOSE?
No, not for one minute.
There will be no dramatic farewell party, no boarded-up windows and no Seany D riding into the sunset.
The show carries on. (Well actually we do have a 3 day ARLA suspension next week Tuesday - Thursday, but that's another story altogether…)
SO WHY TELL EVERYONE?
Because I know there are plenty of people and businesses having difficult conversations right now.
I'm not embarrassed.
I've had some bloody good years in business and I've had some bloody hard ones. For me this is just another part of the story to tell over a b**r or two.
I'm happy to talk openly about what's happening and how it works, what I'm doing about it and what this process actually looks like.
And if somebody else is sitting there thinking they would like someone to discuss their situation with, I'm always happy to have a yarn.
So that's really it.
O’Shedigans is not disappearing.
Seany D is not disappearing.
The show goes on.
It really is business as usual.
See ya at the pub. 🍻
