LOCATED only yards from where James Connolly lived on the Falls Road, Áras Uí Chonghaile is a modern, inspirational visitor centre epitomising the character and fabric of the Falls Road. It is a place of welcome for people of all politics and of none.
James Connolly was a man of formidable ideas and remarkable vision. Over 100 years after he was executed, his values, his ideals and the example he gave us in life are as inspiring and relevant as ever.
The mission of the centre is to ensure that a new generation of Irish people and those who visit from across the world are introduced to James Connolly and his ideas.
And there is always a warm welcome for visitors at the centre with warm hospitality on offer when you come through the door and a lot of that is down to the latest addition to the visitor centre – Lena's sandwiches.
Serving the West Belfast community for over 70 years, Lena's also serve hundreds of customers daily at their main Twin Spires shop.
Eamonn Logue, whose mother opened the shop around 70 years ago, explained more about its history.
“Lena's opened in 1954 on the corner of Colin Street facing North Howard Street,” he said. “It was a very small shop. It was named after my sister Lena.
“We all had to do our turn to work in it. It took a few years to build it up and we opened until quite late at night.
“We sold a bit of everything. It was a newsagents that did food as well with freshly made sandwiches and sausage rolls. We also did Belfast baps which were very popular.
“We redeveloped and moved to Twin Spires, where Lena’s is today. The trade was still as popular as it was in the previous shop.”
Brendan McElkerney bought Lena’s off Eamonn in 2004.
“I used to go to Lena’s as a kid going to school,” he said. “I had never owned or worked in a shop before. It was a rude awakening with the early morning starts.
“The best thing was that Lena’s was a great shop with a great reputation, especially the deli counter. I couldn’t have asked for anything better from Eamonn.
“Lena’s has always been famous for its sandwiches, which are made with plain bread. No one else does it.
“The filled Belfast baps sell out very quickly every morning. I know builders that buy them, who eat half for their lunch and the other half for their dinner.
“There have been a lot of challenges over the years but we always get through them.
“The opportunity then came up to open Lena’s in the James Connolly Visitor Centre when Harry Connolly approached me. It took a while to make it happen but we eventually opened on June 30 this year. We just do exactly the same thing we do in Lena’s down the road – a deli counter for our famous sandwiches. We also do hot food, like pies and lasagne and stuff like that.
“We have always kept our sandwiches good value and still do today and people keep coming back, so we must be doing something right.”
Eimear Hargey from Áras Uí Chonghaile said the addition of Lena's has been a huge boost for the centre.
“We’re delighted to have partnered with Lena’s to offer our visitors such high quality and fresh local produce,” she added. “Lena’s is really part of the social fabric in West Belfast and it’s a testament to the brand that it is and what people locally think of it.
“It has very much added to what we can offer here to both domestic and international visitors. It is bringing in people to the centre who maybe didn’t realise what we were about.
“Our footfall has definitely increased since Lena’s opened. We are delighted to be part of the wider Lena’s community.”
Lena's at Áras Uí Chonghaile is open from 9am, Monday to Friday, and from 10am on Saturday.
