Westport independent opticians celebrates 15th anniversary

AN award-winning independent opticians in Westport is celebrating 15 years of serving the local community.

Eye World has been on Market Lane in the town since December 2005 and the original founder, Clodagh McGovern, is still leading the team there.

Within a year of establishing the business, Eye World was the first practice in Ireland to go paperless, and a decade later became one of the first to implement a state-of-the-art OCT machine which allows their optometrists to see beyond the surface of the eye.

Clodagh and the team have continued to update and modernise the practice throughout the years, including installing a kids room, free Wi-Fi, and introducing online booking in 2017.

However, Eye World’s 15th year has perhaps been the most challenging in its history, due to coronavirus restrictions and the changes the pandemic has caused.

Despite this, the practice team have still served their patients and maintained their commitment to the community throughout, providing a telehealth service so patients could have a remote consultation with their optometrist over the phone when routine appointments were halted.

Eye World is now, however, operating as usual, even with the Level 5 restrictions in place, as they provide an essential service, with eye examinations available on an appointment-only basis, with extra hygiene measures in place.

Optometrist and director Clodagh McGovern said: “When I set up Eye World, I had a vision to eliminate mediocracy within the opticians industry. Our aim was always to have a practice that excelled in technology, use the latest up-to-date equipment and supply the best quality stylish frames and sunglasses in a clinical environment.

“Although Eye World has changed a lot in 15 years, the values of the business have always been that the patient comes first, and over the last few years we have worked hard to deliver the best customer service and product.

“All of us have done our best to become a great team; this has not happened overnight and it started with weekly team meetings and constant engagement and understanding of each other.

“We've acknowledged that a huge part of our lives is spent at work and so being happy and having fun at work is paramount to Eye World, and we hope our patients can see that we love what we do.”

The team at Eye World have won many awards over their 15 years in business, including most recently when practice manager Karen Davitt was named the Transformative Employee of the Year at the Businesswomen of the Year Awards 2020, as part of Network Ireland.

Speaking about the anniversary, Karen said: “We’re really proud to have reached this milestone, especially as an independent, in these times that are so challenging for any business.

“We’re very thankful to our patients for their support throughout our 15 years, and we’re so happy we can be here for them once again, serving them and their eye health.

“We also want to reassure them that, although sanitation and safety has always been important to us, we’re taking extra measures to ensure we have a safe environment for everyone in practice.”

To celebrate their 15th birthday, Eye World are giving away a hamper worth €1,500 to someone who books an appointment or purchases a product priced over €100 before the practice’s birthday on the 16th December.

For more details, or to book an appointment, you can contact the team by calling (098) 26732 or visit https://www.eyeworld.ie/.