LUCIE Hanrahan and David Leonard are a busy couple these days.

As if having their first baby together three weeks ago wasn’t enough, the Tralee couple have just opened a new coffee shop, the curiously titled Ugly Mug, on Edward Street this week.

Lucie and David returned to Ireland in April after spending five years working in New Zealand.

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“Dave was working in demolition over there, but he always wanted to open a coffee shop so when we decided to come back to Tralee he did it,” said Lucie, from Glenard in Monavalley.

‘Ugly Mug’ — “we were looking for a name that was a bit different and that people would remember” said Lucie — has been very busy in its opening few days, serving coffees, teas, pastries, cakes, buns, toasties, granola, soup and more. Its interior is inspired by coffee shops they frequented while in Christchurch.

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“We opened here in Edward Street because we felt there was an opening for a coffee shop on this side of town. With Lidl nearby, there’s more of a footfall now and there’s also offices nearby so we feel this side of town was crying out for it,” added Lucie, who gave birth to baby Ruby just three weeks ago.

So while David, a former Austin Stacks senior footballer from Caherslee, is running the business, Lucie has her hands full too. Best of luck to them both in the venture.