| Henry McGee opened a small one-storied grocery, store in Ardee in 1817, and thus started a 165 year unbroken run of McGee's of Ardee on that site. Henry's wife Mary, (nee Lambe) took over the running of the business following her husband's death in 1865, and passed on control to their son, Patrick, in 1871. Patrick, described locally as a, "businessman of stature" extended the business into seeds, fertilis¬ers, bicycles, oil engines, and farm implements. From 1899 onwards McCormick reaper-and-binders were imported from the U.S.A. One of the staff employed in the assembly of these crated binders was Owen Markey, a famous Louth footballer and holder of two All-Ireland Senior Football medals, who retired from McGee's in 1948.
Thomas Lambe McGee took control of the business in 1901 at a time of growing farmer prosperity, with farmers in the market for a wide range of services and machinery. By this time McGee's premises on the Main Street of Ardee had been extended as adjoining properties were acquired. Thomas saw the future possibilities of the motor car-which had still not made an impact in Ireland-and opened a garage in 1910. The company handled early models of Ford, Morris, the Maxwell from the U.S.A., and cars like the De Dion from France. Later, McGee's opened a branch garage in Drogheda. McGee's added tractors to the machinery line about 1910.
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