The long-awaited expansion of Penney’s into the former Egan’s Pub commenced this week, with the new 40,000 sq ft store set to open in time for Christmas 2009.

With numerous well known outlets such as Sasha and O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar closing in recent weeks, the massive three-storey Penneys will be a welcome addition to city centre shopping and provide a much-needed boost to the flagging retail sector.

The €8m redevelopment will significantly increase the existing Barronstrand Street shop’s floor space and result in the provision of a number of new sections, such as Primark Homeware. An estimated 80 jobs will be created during the construction phase and it is hoped that work will be completed by the end of the year. Existing trading is to move to Railway Square during construction.

The company purchased Egan’s Pub in May 2004 and the proposed expansion programme was subsequently held up in the planning stages for a number of years. An appeal to An Bord Pleanala by Green Party activist Brendan McCann and Thomas Griffin of Blackfriars was eventually overruled, provided fourteen conditions were adhered to. These included the preservation of the pub’s external façade on the lower level, with old red sandstone and limestone to be used by the developer.