Like most retailers, Eason, the iconic Irish bookseller, has endured a tough year. While Eason is classified as an essential retailer in respect of its newspaper and magazine sales, many of its 53 stores are only partially open while others are closed completely. Shareholders had been poised to receive a dividend of €3 per share last year – €60 million in total – on back of the long-awaited sale of its remaining property assets last year. However, this was scrapped last October when the sale was pulled, and the remaining property assets were written down in value by 40 per…