Dublin’s Chapters bookstore had to “turn away so many people” after the shop flooded yesterday.

CEO Mick Finucane said it “was very disappointing” to have so many books destroyed due to a leak.

“The leak happened in the middle of the night. Our manager was the first one to see it, it certainly woke her up,” he said.

“There was a leak and we had to find the source, stop it from coming in and dry up the place.

“It’s just one of those unfortunate things, but we’re back open this morning. The dehumidifiers are airing the place out.

“We don’t have a final count, but I’d say there’s a few hundred books we can’t sell. Water and books don’t make a good mix so most of the books that are damaged are soaking wet.”

The shop is back in business today and Mick is hoping customers come back over the bank holiday weekend.

“We dried the place off, we’ve got fresh books out and we’re open today,” he said.

“These things happen in life and the timing of it yesterday, it’s such a busy time, schools are off, people are shopping, spending time with their kids and families are coming in.

“We’d to turn away so many people yesterday, it was very disappointing but hopefully they’ll come back to us today and this weekend too.”

Last year, Chapters closed its doors after 40 years in business, leaving Dublin book lovers distraught.

However, the store was saved by Mick, along with his friend and business partner Kevin Neary. They reopened on March 11, 2022.

“The reaction to Chapters closing on social media really helped me make the decision to take over the shop,” Mick previously said.

“We had a great Chapters story ourselves, then we heard other people’s stories and read them online.

“We quickly realised there’s so many people out there and it’d be an awful shame for them to see Chapters go. So we put a plan together to save it.

“We offer good value, great range and you can find a book you never knew you were looking for in Chapters, that’s one of the beauties about it.”

Chapters is Ireland’s largest independent, new and second-hand bookstore, and Mick and Kevin couldn’t see it go.

“Chapters was founded in 1982 by William Kinsella. Willy and his wife ran the bookshop for the last 40 years. Myself and my business partner have been friends with Willy all our adult lives.

“We started our original business in the back of Chapters bookshop in middle Abbey Street, which went on to become GameStop. We’ve had a long association with Chapters.

“We were sad to see Chapters closing, along with thousands of other people, so we reached out to Willy, had a chat with him and he opened the door to me and Kevin.

“All the previous staff who worked in Chapters, we were delighted to take them back when we reopened. They’re all avid readers,” Mick added.