Our Story
The story of The Good Fish Company is the story of Denis Good. A boatman, he is proud of his roots, of the stories of ferrymen and fares, of boatmen and their boats, of fishermen and their catches. ‘We should be making more of a song and dance about our fishing culture and the wonderful fish at our fingertips’, he says. Ask him why fish is so unappreciated here and you’ll hear much about politics, penance and purgatory.
But now things have changed: he sees people walking taller, with a surer step, with more pride than before. Now people want to know more about their food and its provenance and, with a generation of craft and experience at his disposal, Denis Good has developed a range of products which bring this provenance to life.
1965
Denis’ love for boats began at a young age.
Denis Good was born and raised in Currabinny near Crosshaven in County Cork. Sharing his fathers’ love for boats, at the tender age of 15 he took his father’s ferry boat across the harbour to Crosshaven to begin his career as a shipwright boat builder.
1968
Proud Moments.
During Denis’ time in his trade he played a role in building boats for fishermen and sailors all over Ireland. One of his greatest achievements in his boatbuilding career was the part he played in the construction of the famous racing yacht ‘Moonduster’.
1988
Our first fish shop!
With a growing love for the fishing industry Denis decided to change careers and follow his passion as a fishmonger and opened his first fish shop in Carrigaline.
1990
Growing success.
The processing plant moved to what was the old Carrigaline Pottery facility; from there to Midleton, and, finally, back to a purpose built facility in Carrigaline which is our home to this day.
2000
A leap of faith.
Hoping to achieve national success Denis opened shops in Dublin and as business grew with the growing economy the headcount grew to over 50 people.
2010
Lessons Learned.
With the bust Denis found out that running fish shops in both Dublin and Cork is hard. Very hard. Cutting his cloth to his measure he concentrated on the Cork shops and in supplying restaurants and supermarkets. Through sheer will and determination he ground out growth and, to keep up with the pace, the factory doubled in size – as did the headcount.
2020
Bringing the dream to life.
“For years I’ve thought a lot about what I can make that will be different, and that will be appreciated for the thought and craft that has gone into its making. Due to this, I’m bringing you a range of products that are produced from the best of ingredients, that will make it easy, clean and convenient to introduce fish to anyone’s cooking exploits… I hope you enjoy them, Slainté!”
