Our Heritage

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    1920

    Cassie Sweeney opened a drapery shop in Falcarragh, Co. Donegal. Sweeney’s Drapers was the destination of choice for many shoppers, such asthe Tory islanders who regularly took the ferry in to Falcarragh to shop in Sweeney’s and bring back goods to the island. Mary Sweeney, Cassie’s daughter, took over the reins of the shop at the young age of 18, when her mother died unexpectedly in 1939.

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    1958

    The Mc Auliffe name came about after Mary got married to Kerry man Jack Mc Auliffe. Jack opened a Chemist shop in Dunfanaghy in our current premises, back in 1958. This was his second shop in Dunfanaghy. Mary moved into his original premises across the street and started operating a pop-up Tweed Shop during the summer months as an addition to running the shop in Falcarragh.

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    1960

    After the success of her summer pop up tweed shop, Mary decided to move the business over to Dunfanaghy full timeand close the Falcarragh store. She moved into the premises directly upstairs from Jack’s Chemist and the two businesses started to work together in sync continuing to grow and change as the years went on.

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    1995

    In 1995, after the Chemist has closed, Mary and Jack were ready to retire. Their daughter Anne took over the business with a new vision for the shop. She took the best elements from both separate businesses and combined them with what she had learnt from her parents. The result, Mc Auliffe’s Craft Shop was born.

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    2019

    In 2019 we took on a new project, which was to expand back into the unused upstairs of the premises. The shop saw a major refurbishment, uncovering and preserving not only the building’s beautiful original features, but also some of the precious stories attached to the premises. We blended these traditional features with modern Irish design and architecture, creating the perfect juxtaposition of who we once were, and who we have become. We named this new retail space No.33 after the original dwelling house where the shop is now located.

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