"The impact on our business to date is unprecedented."

Mothercare Ireland has gone into liquidation, closing all 14 of its stores nationwide. The baby care retail chain employed 197 people in Ireland and had been experiencing "significant losses" due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mothercare Ireland managing director Jonathan Ward said this morning that sales were and would continue to be adversely affected by Covid-19. "When Covid-19 began to spread in Ireland no one knew the scale of the impact that this would have," he said via a statement today. "The impact on our business to date is unprecedented and what has become clear over the recent weeks is that store sales are going to continue to be seriously impacted in the short term whilst social distancing measures are in place and longer term as consumer habits permanently change." Mothercare Ireland first launched in 1992, and had stores in Dublin, Cork, Louth, Galway, Limerick, Kildare, Laois, Sligo and Kerry. The UK faction of the business fell into administration last year and closed 79 stores across the country. "As a family business, it is devastating news for the entire team," continued Ward. "Whilst we’ve tried to keep our teams as up to date as possible through these challenging times, it’s still a huge shock. "We wish to thank all our loyal management and staff for their dedication and service to our customers over the years. "We’d like to acknowledge also the support of our customers, who have trusted us to look after their little ones for three generations, and to all our suppliers who have worked alongside us over the last 28 years."