The story
Origins and development
JJ Kavanagh and Sons was founded in 1919 by James Kavanagh, and his wife Mollie, with the running of a daily coach service between Urlingford and Kilkenny. In the 1940s, the couple's sons took over the business. In the following years, the company expanded with an increase both in fleet size and in number of routes. This included the introduction of an Urlingford - Clonmel route. At the time, the company had a lucrative delivery contract with some of Ireland's largest newspaper companies.
Change in market and expansion
With the decline in the prominence of the newspaper in Ireland, JJ Kavanagh and Sons lost their delivery deal and were forced to find new sources of income. The business saw rapid expansion from the 1980s onwards as they launched a number of intercity routes. The expansion of intercity routes was made possible for the company as a result of their acquisition of a number of coach companies across the south-east of Ireland in Naas, Nenagh, Waterford and Clonmel as well as the opening of sub-offices in Carlow and Dublin.
In 2011, the company expanded internationally by purchasing Mullany's coaches in Watford, England. This deal was believed to have been in the region of €1 million.
As of 2019, the company reportedly had a workforce of approximately 250 people.
From Wikipedia’s article on JJ Kavanagh and Sons, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4