D. E. Williams Ltd.

While working in Tullamore Distillery since 1864, D. E. Williams had also established his own grocery business in 1891 in Tullamore. This rapidly expanded to 26 bars, groceries and hardware stores all within a 30-mile radius of Tullamore. The branch houses, mostly licensed, were located in neighbouring towns, and the company expanded into an important wine and spirit business, general wholesale, tea and mineral waters. D. E. Williams Ltd. also had interests in malting and seed/corn dealing, which expanded in the 1950s as it became the supplier of malt to other distillers and brewers through the Midland Malting Co. Ltd. in 1968.

In 1961, D. E. Williams Ltd. expanded into the supermarket business and established the chain of Five-Star supermarkets, some on the sites of the original Williams branch shops. In 1966, the Williams Group Tullamore Ltd was incorporated and comprised the companies D. E Williams Ltd., B. Daly & Co. Ltd, Keily & Co. Ltd., and Irish Mist Liqueur Company.

In 1997 both companies were sold to Greencore plc.

Tullamore, Co. Offaly

ISAAR (CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (2011)

December 2015