Ronaghan’s pharmacy limited was established in Monaghan town in 1918 at Church Square by Peter Ronaghan. He came from a farming background and followed his brother Eugene into the pharmaceutical profession. Having served his time working in the well established Harrington’s Pharmacy group in Cork he came home to Monaghan to set up on his own.
As the business grew Peter bought Whitla’s pharmacy, The Diamond in 1933. The Whitla family are synonymous with pharmaceutical excellence as shown by the famous Whitla’s Pharmacy materia medica and therapeutics reference book. It was Peter’s professionalism that convinced the Whitla family to sell to Peter as he had endeavoured to uphold the standards set by them in the business.
Peter and his wife Kathleen’s two eldest sons Peadar and Lorcan followed their father into the profession both qualifying as pharmacists and opticians.
On Peter’s passing in 1953, Peadar took over the running of both Church Square and The Diamond premises. With the help of his mother Peadar expanded the Church Square premises by buying the neighbouring property and making it into the only pharmacy and optican premises in Monaghan.
Peadar continued the running of the two locations (The Diamond premises solely traded as a cosmetique in the 1970’s and 1980’s) until his passing in 1990. The business was passed onto Peadar’s wife Eleanor who ran the business until early 2005. Nowadays the business is being run by Peadar and Eleanor’s sons Peter and Andrew who have just reopened their business back in The Diamond Monaghan.
