WELL known Dunfanaghy woman Mary McAuliffe from Kill turned 101 last Monday and this year she was joined by members of her family to celebrate the occasion.
Mary has become an integral part of the local community since moving to Dunfanaghy and opening her tweed and fashion shop above her late husband Jack’s pharmacy over 50 years ago. Since then the shop has gone from strength to strength and Mary and her sister Gretta have done a lot to popularise the use of Donegal Tweed in fashion over the years.
Mary Brigid Mc Auliffe (nee Sweeney) was born on January 31, 1921, the eve of St Brigid’s day marking the first day of spring. She is the daughter of the late Michael Sweeney, Clonbara, Falcarragh and Cassie Mc Fadden Dore, Gweedore.
Reared in Falcarragh, Mary was sent to Gweedore to her Grandmother’s house to spend her final two years of primary school education there in Knockastolar Primary School. This was to improve on her Irish language so she could enter the Scholarship Exam to Loreto Convent in Letterkenny.
Gweedore was a new culture to Mary, and she learnt many old Irish traditions in her grandmother’s home during her time there. The raking at night, or “ag airneál” as it was known, where the neighbours would visit different houses for a few hours at night with storytelling and sean nós singing. This was the start of her lasting love for singing.
Mary got her scholarship to Loreto and spent her secondary education as a boarder there. She developed her singing further there and was in the choir, the choral group, and the drama group. She won a scholarship to the Munster Institute in Cork after her time in Loreto and loved her course there. Unfortunately, while she was there her mother passed away in 1939 and Mary had to return to Donegal and take over the running of the family business, Sweeney’s Drapers, and the rearing of a young family. She was 18 and the youngest was only four years old. Despite running the family business and looking after the family, Mary joined the local choir drama groups, Glor Na nGael and Comhaltas Ceoltoiri.
Mary McAuliffe pictured with her granddaughter Emily on her 101st Birthday.
Her Irish language served her well in the shop as it was a go to destination for the Islanders from Tory, and they did not speak English.
She rose to the challenges that faced her and managed to get her young siblings all well-educated. She also turned what was a very general drapery shop into a top fashion and Bridal house and people travelled from all over the North West to shop there. Sweeney’s Fashion House, as it had become known, also did fashion shows for community groups such as Gweedore ICA.
She met her husband Jack at a dance in the Market House in Dunfanaghy. They married and initially lived in Falcarragh as Mary was caring for her elderly father. After he passed, they moved to Dunfanaghy in 1969 and Mary closed Sweeney’s Fashion House, having already had a pop-up Tweed Shop in Dunfanaghy. She later created Mc Auliffe’s Craft Shop when Jack retired, merging some of his giftware with her textiles and clothing products.
She got involved in community on a larger scale after moving to Dunfanaghy and was one of the directors of The Workhouse Dunfanaghy which later successfully became a Famine Heritage Centre.
Mary McAuliffe pictured with her children Mary, Seán and Ann and brother Maurice and sister Gretta on her 101st Birthday.
Mary also played a pivotal role in the committee which eventually led to the establishment of the Ozanam Community Centre which has become a great asset for the local community.
She was as always attracted to singing and was a member of Holy Cross Choir for many years while encouraging the youth to get directly involved. She was also involved in the Youth Club Foróige encouraging the youth to take part in competitions such as sport, singing, dancing and public speaking.
Mary was a member of the Letterkenny Choral Society directed by James Mc Cafferty, Derry for many years and loved performing with them. She made a lot of good friends in the choir.
She is truly one of life’s unsung heroes and she continues to have such a positive outlook and so much love and passion for life in this her 102nd year of life in her home in Kill.
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