Our History

 
Mattie Haskins Irish Imports 1941 New York City

 

Timeless Irish Treasures, USA, Inc. can trace its roots back to the oldest Irish import store in the United States - Mattie Haskins' Irish Imports, which opened its doors in Brooklyn in 1923 and moved to the East Side of Manhattan in 1928. In those days, the store specialized in Irish sheet music, 78 rpm records and Irish cigarettes and tobacco. Mattie Haskins, himself, who hailed from Dublin, wrote and published his own songbook during this time. Shortly after moving to Manhattan, Mattie Haskins succumbed to pneumonia, leaving his wife, Theresa, in control of the store, which was now located on East 75th St.

In 1950, Theresa Haskins (nee McAntee), originally from County Cavan, brought her nephew, Pat Lynch, over from Ireland to help in the store. Theresa and Pat Lynch ran the store for a number of years and in her late 60s, she remarried a Galway man named Mike McGlynn. When Theresa died some years later, Mike moved back to Ireland, leaving the store in the hands of a nephew of his and a niece of Theresa's, Eileen McMahon. It was from Eileen McMahon that Cathy Lynch (daughter to Pat Lynch) purchased the store in 1978 and added 'Shamrock Imports' to the name.

In 1990, the store moved from the upper East Side of Manhattan to the Manhattan Mall on 6th Ave. It was from the back of this store that Cathy Lynch originally launched 'Treasures of Ireland.' From its beginnings in the storeroom of Mattie Haskins' Shamrock Imports, Treasures of Ireland grew to become one of the premier importers of Irish jewelry in the United States with Irish retail store customers stretching from Maine to California and Florida to Portland, Oregon. In 1996, now incorporated as 'Treasures of Ireland, USA, Inc.', the company rapidly outgrew the space available to it in the back of Shamrock Imports, and consequently shifted its base of operations to a new office in Nyack, NY, tripling the size of the office and adding a full-time staff to accommodate its rapid growth.

In 2002, - Timeless Treasures was added – the company expanded its ever-growing selection of 10ct, 14ct and Sterling Silver jewelry to include an Enamel and 18ct Gold Plated Jewelry line, as well as a gift line. The gift line included Celtic pillboxes, Celtic pens, pen sets and bookmarks.

In 2007, after adding ‘Irish’ to its name to more accurately reflect its heritage, Timeless Irish Treasures shifted its base of operations to Wilmington, NC, where the third generation of the family-owned business joined the operations. Mother, daughter and grandmother opened a retail outlet that bears the daughter’s name - Sinead’s Cottage – and continued the tradition that had been established 86 years prior on the streets of Manhattan.

Timeless Irish Treasures continues to offer its geographically diverse customer base the very finest in Celtic and Claddagh jewelry including innovative new fashion designs being created by an in-house design team as well as an unmatched level of customer service. Based on the company’s ability to stock a great selection of inventory in its present North Carolina warehouse facility, orders can be shipped within a matter of days. In addition, by assuming the duty and freight costs normally associated with direct importation, the company is able to offer its customers highly competitive prices, as well.