Jennings Opticians is a name synonymous with quality in eyewear. Little did Bernard Jennings realise when he opened 200 years ago that he would see such changes as the foundation of the State, two World Wars, the showband era, the moon voyage, the cult of Charles J. Haughey and Boyzone. The two hundred year journey of spectacles from the half inch thick lens carefully moulded from the bottom of a porter bottle to the disposable designer-tinted contact lens worn by Marylin Manson, is a journey fondly remembered by this 220 year old giant of a man.
I enquire further about Bernard's meeting with James Joyce "Ahh, I was up in Dublin one day in 1908 when I saw this man writitng on a bench beside the canal. He had a blank paper in his handbut he was writing on his trouser leg, I made him a pair of glasses on the spot and he has never looked back.
Conspicuosly Bernard does not mention the wonderful array of glasses he designed for the songwriter Elton John or indeed Dame Edna Everedge. "Ach it was the seventies, someone put something into my drink."
A major feature of the last 200 years have been the quirky window displays for which Jennings Opticians are famed.It is not uncommon to find bizzare items such as miniature dolmens, tea sets covered in tinfoil and sometimes even a personal message scrawled on large sheets of cardboard.
Two hundred years on and still a sense of humour, one of the many endearing qualities which have ensured that Jennings Opticians is still thriving today. Leaving the last word to the amn himself and his catchphrase," Nice to see you, soon you'll see
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© Jennings Opticians 2000