DONEGAL is awash with activities and events with Heritage Week taking centre stage across the county.
In Dunfanaghy, there’s a chance to enjoy a wonderful exhibition of work today at The Workhouse.
John Heena, the traditional weaver from Ardara, will conduct a workshop from 11am until 5pm.
John comes from a family of weavers – his uncle Frank Heena lived in Carrigart. Frank worked with McNutts back in the 1950s and his father worked for Magees.
John still remembers sitting beside men years ago, watching them weave, when the old tilly oil lamps were still going.
John supplies his local hand-woven blankets and rugs to the Workhouse during the summer months and for Heritage Week, he will bring his portable hand loom along to give those in attendance the chance to see a traditional hand weaver at work and to maybe try their hand at this ancient craft themselves .
John has been a weaver since 1970 when he started work in his native Ardara with Gaelterra Éireann.
When he began his career there was plenty of work for weavers and they were able to switch between employers, as John did when he moved between Gaelterra Éireann and Magees of Donegal Town for a number of years.
Gaelterra Éireann eventually closed down and since then John has spent 15 years working with Studio Donegal in Kilcar and 23 years with Magees of Donegal and he says that he has seen a lot in over 50 years in the trade.
When John began work, weaving was a large cottage industry and Magee’s alone had 150 weavers at one time although this has now dwindled back to just a handful since the introduction of the power looms.
John says that in Ardara alone there were 200 weavers at one stage but now this has trickled down to just two weavers.
John is presently working with a group of nine students in conjunction with the Donegal ETB, as he tries to pass his skills on to the next generation.
For more information on today’s event or to book please contact The Workhouse on 0749136540.
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