Neal Sweeney Of Mc Elhinneys speaks to Me.

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'.