Alan Coakley is helping Leesiders fall in love with luxury fragrance
13:14, 03 Dec 2025Updated 16:09, 03 Dec 2025
Republic of Oud, Cork city
You may not have heard of Oud, but it might just be your next fragrance obsession. That’s what Alan Coakley hopes, anyway. The Cork native has opened the first luxury oud store in the city centre, introducing Leeside shoppers to a whole world of niche perfume.
After decades working as an engineer abroad, including stints in countries including Oman, Qatar, Kazakhstan and most recently in Iraq, Alan explains how oud is already a booming industry in the likes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Turner’s Cross man spotted a gap in the fragrance industry in Ireland and knew he wanted to return home to raise his young family in Cork. And thus, the idea for Republic of Oud was born.
Alan Coakley outside the new Republic of Oud in Cork city(Image: Sara Rountree)
Oud fragrances are hugely popular across Asia and the Middle East, and in recent decades, posh perfume shops and popular oud brands have popped up in stylish cities including London, New York and Paris.
Now, Cork is following the trend, and there is already huge curiosity and interest from shoppers passing the beautiful glass display at the Republic of Oud on Winthrop Arcade – particularly coming up to Christmas.
Republic of Oud, Cork city(Image: CorkBeo)
But what is oud? Alan explains that raw oud, which is one of the most valuable natural ingredients in perfumery, comes from a “sick tree.” It is tree sap from the Aquilaria tree, which produces the rich, fragrant resin when it contracts a kind of parasitic mold. It is called agarwood, which produces oud. While it can still be found naturally in the wild, there has been a huge problem with over-harvesting and these days, most oud is farmed on plantations to protect the endangered wild population. The oud is used in perfumery, and is loved for its signature sophisticated scent.
“It’s aged, like a fine whiskey, and it’s direct farm-to-factory,” said Alan. There are some synthetic ouds, but Alan only stocks perfumes made with real, natural oud. There are other recognisable perfume brands that claim to have ‘oud’ but they are marketing the rich, woody scent profile, rather than the real deal.
The consultation room, where you can find your next signature scent (Image: Cork Beo)
Republic of Oud stocks a wide range of niche fragrances from top international brands, including Electimuss and Ajmal, of which they are the only Irish retailer. In the ornate, mirror-walled consultation room, customers can discover their new signature scent by testing out the huge array of options – from sprays to oils and hair mists – all with complimentary Prosecco in hand.
And Alan is hoping to make it an accessible shopping experience too. The range starts at €50, with the more expensive parfum extrait products around €500 only available by special request, so there are options for every budget and taste. They are all unisex, as Alan assures his customers, “there is no rules in fragrance, everyone has their own taste.”
As for how Alan got into the world of luxury perfumery, Republic of Oud is actually his first venture into owning and running a business. The hands-on boss was inspired to open an oud fragrance store in his hometown, after years buying his Kazakh wife her favourite oud perfumes as gifts. He first relocated his young family to Cork, including wife and business partner Ardak and their two young sons, in 2018 before coming home permanently last December.
Electimuss is one of the most popular brands (Image: CorkBeo)
“I was travelling with work a lot. And I would come home bringing back perfumes and oils that you couldn’t get here. I always saw it as a potential business.
“It was always the plan to focus on family and settle home in Cork, and I guess opening here was a risk, but there are always risks in business. I was an engineer for 20 years and I was working in Iraq and wearing a bulletproof vest everyday and just thought, enough is enough, I’ll take the risk. Nobody knows what will happen until you start, and I feel I went into it eyes open.”
Republic of Oud opened in July, so Alan is enjoying its first busy Christmas shopping season. The location at Winthrop Arcade is a gorgeous new spot for shoppers to check out. While the space is small, the lovely glass windows along the storefront tempt curious customers to come in and have a closer look, and Alan says his business neighbours have been very welcoming. “Cork business is great, everyone is very supportive and we all look out for each other. Maybe it’s for luck but I had some of the business owners around here come in and buy some fragrance and to welcome us.”
Quirky display to test scents at Republic of Oud(Image: CorkBeo)
And in an age of a dominating online retail industry, Alan says that fragrance is among products that are still surviving the shift to online shopping – as people still need to try before they buy! “Smell is one of your five key senses,” he said, “Of course, you’ll have blind buyers coming in and picking stuff out, but perfume is really personal. It’s stil so human. That’s why we have the consultation room and smaller sample sets for people to try out different ones, some fragrances may even smell different on different people, and a niche fragrance can be a real investment.”
“The consultation room is a bit quirky, a bit different, but we think it is important. Oud has this luxury aesthetic attached to it, we will match people’s expectation of a luxury experience. I always advise people to come in and try for themselves. There’s an interesting psychology, especially behind niche fragrances, you never know if it might bring back some nostalgia or a resonate with a memory. We have scents that evoke everything from fresh biscuits to a samurai sword!”
For Christmas, Alan recommends a lovely gift set with a range of smaller sprays which he says is a great way for anyone new to oud to discover their new signature scent. A 13-piece Sora Dora Discovery Set is €95, while a 20-piece Electimuss Discovery Set is €115. See more on the Republic of Oud website or check them out at Winthrop Arcade, off Winthrop Street.
