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'.

This week I spoke to Neal Sweeney who owns Mc. Elhinneys of Athboy and we talked about these 3 seperate huge shops. Next week I will post our interview, as we talked about the 3 huge shops also about the closing of the shop in 2010 and the re-opening 4 months later and how it is doing now.  I also have interviews with employees and interviews from other business owners in Athboy about how it effected their business when Mc. Elhinneys closed its door in 2010.

Welcome to my Hometown.

Welcome to Athboy! This is what I see every morning heading into Athboy, and just like this morning it was -2degrees at 8 in the morning, but no matter how cold it is I think the frost always makes a nice picture.

Mc. Elhinneys of Athboy.

This week I will be talking to Mr. Neal Sweeney, The manager of the family run business of Mc. Elhinneys Fashion.
Mc. Elhinneys is one of the biggest ladies clothes shop in Ireland.
I will be talking to people on the street and local shoppers about what its like having Mc. Elhinneys in Athboy and how its changed over the 75 years that it has been open.
Mc. Elhinneys closed in 2010 due to the recession and it re-opened with a bang 3-4 months later. I will talk to Neal about what its like since re-opening and how it has effected the business.

Ally's Athboy

Being a young girl living in a small country town all my life definitely made me the non traditional different kind of person I am today, and I'm only 20 (today).

I've lived in Athboy Co. Meath all my life. Athboy is a small town where everybody knows each other, sometimes that can be a good thing, sometimes bad. Everyone knows your business, but there's always someone looking out for you.
Also I will be talking to people about what its like to live in Athboy, their different stories and to unique people who believe Athboy is a very special place, as do I.

I am in Liberties College in Dublin, Studying Creative Media Production. I live in Athboy with my mother and father, Alice and Austin and two big brothers Edwin and Keith. I've been singing since the age of 4, and when I released my second CD I raised €500 for teenline Ireland and €200 to my local No Name! Club, it was all because of the brilliant support from all the people in Athboy.

In my blog, I will be telling stories from Athboy in the 1950's right up to today. From raising funds for Pieta House in Limerick for Prevention of Suicide, to the biggest ladies clothes shop in Leinster 'Mc Elhinneys' closing down due to the resession, to raising $90,000 american dollars for a very well known loving father and fantastic country singer who was suffering from a brain tumour. I also have many more wonderful stories from all the different personalities from Athboy that will show what kind of brilliant place it really is.