Snooker player Fergal O’Brien’s father has closed his much-loved Dublin shop after 57 years on Capel Street.

Fergus O’Brien, 80, has run Brenfer Bullseye, a trophy, snooker and darts shop, since 1969. The shop was famous for its wall-to-wall wooden cabinets with glass fronts.

The announcement of the trophy store’s closure has led to a widespread outpouring of support with Mr O’Brien taken aback by the response.

Speaking to the Irish Times, he said that people are still calling to the door to congratulate him on his retirement, while a woman in Meath sent him a card saying the street would miss him.

The Brenfer name joins his own with that of Brendan Whelan, his business partner when the pair opened the shop. Fergus started in 1966, aged 19, fixing watches for Mr Whelan, who had a jewellery shop on Clanbrassil Street. Mr Whelan later moved to Australia with his family in 1986.

The old-world interior turned the shop into an attraction in its own right, with a steady flow of visitors calling in just to look around.

‘It got a makeover in 1972 and hasn’t been touched since,’ Fergus said.

He would joke to visitors that it was like the old Guinness Hop Store, except his was the genuine article.

In the three years between starting with Mr Whelan and opening the shop, Fergus married his wife Joan. The couple have two children, Lisa and Fergal, and four grandchildren.

Joan worked beside him in the shop for many years. He credits Lisa with being his rock during her time in the business.

Trophies and engraving grew naturally out of the jewellery trade. The snooker side came from Fergus’s own love of the game. Darts followed when a specialist shop nearby closed and its customers started calling in. Brenfer eventually had the biggest darts selection in Ireland.

At its busiest, the shop employed 10 people across sales and watch and jewellery repairs. Fergus said times have changed, and people no longer place the same sentimental value on a watch or a 21st birthday present.

The business was still doing well, including online, but he felt the time had come to close.