Ireland’s best value supermarket Lidl will open the doors to its brand-new store in Claregalway in Co Galway on Thursday 22nd May 2025 at 8:00am, taking the retailer’s store count to 11 in the county and creating 30 new jobs for the local area.
Representing an investment of €7 million into the community, the new Lidl Claregalway store is located on a newly developed greenfield site next to the N83, in the centre of the village. The new store will feature state-of-the-art facilities including a spacious shop floor with wide aisles, self-service check outs, long tills, an off licence and Lidl’s much loved in-store bakery offering fresh baked goods daily.
Continuing the retailer’s ambitious expansion plans, the brand-new store is the retailer’s 186th store in Ireland and 228th store within the island of Ireland. Earlier this year, Lidl Ireland confirmed a fresh €600 million investment into creating 35 new stores and a Regional Distribution Centre at Little Island in County Cork over the next five years.
As part of Lidl's ambitions to reduce operational emissions as part of its overarching sustainability strategy "A Better Tomorrow". Lidl has been leading on rolling out solar PV panels across its network over the last number of years. So far, Lidl has already invested more than €12 million on solar panels.
Lidl Claregalway will be the retailer’s 100th store to feature a solar PV system that will generate more than 20% of the building’s energy requirements. The store will also incorporate a range of additional sustainability features including LED lighting with Dali control, high performance building fabric, heat recovery and electric vehicle charger spaces for customers. These sustainability features help achieve a BER A1 certification and fed into our ISO 50001 Energy Management System certification.
Local ladies’ Gaelic football player and Lidl Ambassador Nicola Ward will have the honour of cutting the ribbon on the morning and welcome shoppers into the new store to enjoy a premier shopping experience. Advancing Lidl Ireland’s community-focused objectives under its 'A Better Tomorrow' sustainability strategy, and to mark the opening, the staff at Lidl’s Claregalway store will donate €1,000 in Lidl vouchers to Anam Croí and Claregalway National School on the morning of the store opening.
The first ten shoppers to enter the brand-new store will be first in line to pick up opening day discounts but also receive complementary Lidl gift vouchers to put towards their in-store shop. With the doors due to open at 8am sharp on Thursday 22nd May, early bird shoppers can get their chance to meet and greet Lidl Ambassador and LGFA star Nicola Ward and enjoy special instore entertainment.
Ahead of the store opening, Tara O’Connor, Lidl Ireland Regional Managing Director said:
“On behalf of Lidl Ireland I am delighted to announce that we will open the doors to our brand new Claregalway store on Thursday 22nd May. This year Lidl celebrates its 25th Anniversary in Ireland, it’s a great way to begin our celebrations in Galway. This store has been highly anticipated in the area as we first applied for planning permission in early 2022. We have continued to work with leading designers and architects to ensure that the new store compliments the local area and will offer a superior shopping experience to customers with spacious interior layout. We look forward to welcoming customers next week to the brand-new store.
Not only does this store mark a significant investment of over €7 million to the area, but the opening of the store also marks a significant milestone on Lidl’s roadmap to maintaining position of Irelands’ most sustainable retailer as Claregalway is our 100th store to be fitted with solar panels, generating over 20% of energy and reducing our impact on the local environment. Lidl is rooted in communities throughout Ireland and we pride ourselves on operating in a way that is sustainable with the least impact possible on the environment.”
Ahead of the opening, Lidl Ambassador and Galway LGFA player Nicola Ward said:
“Through its longstanding partnership with LGFA, Lidl has been hugely supportive of its communities and it’s great to see them further investing in the Galway area by bringing a state-of-the-art store to Claregalway, creating employment for local people. I’m excited to cut the ribbon on the morning of the store opening and officially welcome everyone to the new store. I’d encourage everyone to come down and visit on Thursday 22nd May and be first in the queue to grab those middle aisle offers while you can!”
Last year, Lidl procured over €36 million worth of goods and services from 39 suppliers and business partners across Galway. Lidl’s key Galway suppliers include Glenamaddy-based Westbake who supply Lidl with much of the retailer’s confectionary range to stores in Ireland since 2019, as well as exporting their much-loved products to appear on Lidl’s shelves in Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Lidl Ireland was recently named a ‘Top Employer’ by the Top Employers Institute for the fifth year running. The retailer was also named Most Reputable Retailer and Most Value for Money Organisation in the 2025 RepTrak Ireland study, and was named Most Sustainable Retailer in Ireland, ranking #3 in the RepTrak® Sustainability Index for 2024.
Lidl’s Claregalway store will open daily: Monday – Saturday 8:00am – 10:00pm, and Sunday 9:00am – 9:00pm from Thursday 22nd May at 8:00am.
Lidl Ireland currently employs more than 6,000 employees in its 185 stores, Head Office in Tallaght and three distribution centres and regional offices based in Charleville, Mullingar, and Newbridge.
For further information, the latest instore offers and career opportunities please visit www.lidl.ie
