Golden Discs
Golden Discs, officially Golden Disc Group Ltd., is Ireland’s oldest and largest home-entertainment retailer. It began in 1962 in Dublin when Jack Fitzgerald and Tom Rogers started Trans-Atlantic Record Agency (TARA). The Golden Discs name came into use in 1966.
The chain grew through the 1970s and 1980s, reaching about 16 stores by 1987, with many in Dublin and some in Northern Ireland. In the late 1980s, big British music stores like Virgin and HMV opened in Dublin, changing the market. Golden Discs restructured to rely more on its countrywide stores, with managers handling stock locally.
In 2001, the group reported turnover of €29.7 million and a profit of €833,000. The 2000s were tough, and the company entered examinership in 2009 with several store closures. It returned to profit in 2013 and began expanding again in 2017, adding new shops and an online option.
In 2016 Golden Discs opened concessions inside Tesco stores, becoming Ireland’s largest home-entertainment retailer with about 96 locations. The Tesco agreement ended in 2019. New shops followed in 2018 and 2019, expanding the product range to include vinyl and more formats.
Like many retailers, Golden Discs closed stores during the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 and offered click-and-collect. Shops reopened in May 2021. The company celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2022.
Since then, Golden Discs has reduced its footprint, closing several shops in 2022 and 2023, including in Tralee, Cork City and Dún Laoghaire. The business now operates about 20 shops across Ireland.
Today Stephen Fitzgerald, son of founder Jack Fitzgerald, runs Golden Discs. The stores stock CDs, vinyl records, DVDs, Blu-ray and 4K discs, plus hardware like turntables, speakers and headphones, and a range of merchandise. The group also runs Vinyl8, an online vinyl shop, and POP!, a concept shop for music and movie merchandise.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:47 (CET).