This year marks the 20th anniversary since Lyndsey O’Sullivan took over as owner of Paradise Flowers on Marino Street, Bantry. However, Lyndsey approached Mother’s Day 2020 with trepidation such as she had never felt before. Lyndsey told us, “In all my years being in business I have never been so unsure and scared of Mother’s Day approaching. I confidently placed my order from Holland weeks before Covid 19 struck. Just as it got real, my flowers were delivered, and I sat in my shop crying over my massive fresh flower order that I thought would probably have to be binned.”

In desperation, Lyndsey put her Covid 19 plan into operation and hoped for the best. She took extra precautions with sanitation and put on an extra delivery vehicle. She prepared bouquets and left them outside the shop window for customers to “Grab and go”, having paid over the phone or by contactless payment. To her amazement and delight, she completely sold out.
Lyndsey said, “The support I received from locals completely blew me away. You can see from the photos I had a lot of stock and Holland were destroying theirs due to no florists buying anymore. This could have been me destroying my stock but thanks to all that bought something from Paradise Flowers in the run up to Mother’s Day, I am truly grateful. I would like to thank every single customer that supported me during this very challenging time. I have now made my last delivery until further notice. All my Irish and Dutch suppliers are closed or with little stock and we are now closed in line with the current regulations.”