Ally
Doherty
Mc.
Elhinneys of Athboy
With Mc.
Elhinneys being one of the biggest ladies clothes shop in Ireland, I
spoke to Neal Sweeney the Grandson of Molly Mc Elhinney the
seamstress by trade who opened up the first shop of Mc Elhinneys in
1937 which now today still stands as Mc Elhinneys for Men and the
main shop of Mc Elhinneys Fashion and Molly's kitchen is set just 2
doors down.
I spoke to
Neal about his oldest memory of Mc Elhinneys, the huge sales that
used to fill the town of Athboy from 7.30 in the morning and how he
felt about the business closing down in 2010 due to the recession
under his management after it being in his family business for
generations.
Neal was
born in Molly's house which is now the shop of Mc Elhineys for Men in
Athboy. The house was upstairs and the shop was downstairs, the left
part of the shop was for men and the right was for women. 'The shop
was part of the house and the house was part of the shop, We always
had to be quiet as the hallway was a communal hallway and everyone
would use it, it was great fun but Molly always kept an eye on us'
Neal says. In the mid 70's Molly opened the new shop and she made it
into the shop that it is today.
Molly always
had a dream to have a team room, a coffee shop of some sort to be
part of the shop. Her plan was to build it whilst she was alive but
unfortunately she passed away before it was built. But signs of Molly
shines through everyday as it is now called ''Molly's Kitchen'' and
it serves food that Molly loved like homemade brown bread which
Molly's Kitchen is famous for now today.
In 2010, due
to the recession Neal had to make the decision to close the business
down leaving over 40 employees without work. They were told on the
Tuesday it was closing down and the following Saturday the girls of
Mollys Kitchen and the ladies of Mc Elhinneys heard the voice of the
late Mary Cooke over the intercom say 'Ladies and Gentlemen this
store is now closing as it is 6'o clock'.
'It was very
difficult from 2008, we had no choice but to close the shop down'
says Neal. But within 4 months later Mc Elhinneys re-opened its doors
to the public which Neal tells me 'I had great pride, it was so
difficult closing but with a little bit of finance and a little bit
of time we were back'
With the
shop not as big as it used to be in recent years Neal says that 'The
business will always try its best to connect with customers and try
give out a good vibe with the brilliant atmosphere and outstanding
personal service. Also with Molly's Kitchen open, its retail therapy
at its best'. With the sales still going strong, there's now a lot
more retailors around the country and queues aren't as half as big,
but they still get a nice crowd especially after the Christmas.
Mc Elhinneys
have recently got brand new designers such as verscae, Armani,
Basler, Marcona, and Betty Barclay. Neal says 'That I'm trying my
very best along with my employees and his family members to get the
famous shop of Mc Elhinneys back to its old traditional way'.
