Among those taking part in this year’s Heritage Week activities at The Workhouse in Dunfanaghy will
be John Heena, the traditional weaver from Ardara who will conduct a Workshop on Tuesday next
the 20th August from 11am until 5pm.
John comes from a family of weavers. His uncle Frank Heena lived in Carrigart and he worked with McNutts in 1952 and his father worked for Magees. He recalls sitting beside these men years ago, watching them weave, when the old tilly oil lamps were still going and he took a big interest in it.
John has been a weaver since 1970 when he started work in his native Ardara with Gaelterra
Eireann. 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 Eirean and Magees of
Donegal Town for a number of years. Gaelterra Eireann 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 hand full since the introduction of the power looms. There was weaving in
Dunlewey and in Clonmany in Inishowen but now that has all gone although John regularly travels to
Inishowen to showcase his craft. John says that in Ardara alone there was 200 weavers at one stage
but now this has trickled down to just two weavers. John also began his weaving career working at
home under the light of a Tilly oil lamp prior to the coming of electricity to the area in 1972. He
would finish at 5 o clock and then start with another company from 6 until 9 or ten, he worked
Saturday and also worked a lot of Sundays. He was working at home. The ordinary hand looms have
changed little over the years.
John is presently in charge of 9 students in conjunction with the Donegal ETB as he tries to pass his
skills on to the next generation in the last few years a number of students have passed through his
classes in Ardara and Letterkenny as he tries to keep the traditional weaving alive.
John is a well-known figure at craft fairs and exhibitions and in 2015 he took part in an Exhibition
with Studio Donegal at Dublin Airport. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions at home and
abroad over the last few years.
John supplies his local hand-woven blankets and scarves at the Workhouse year round, and this year 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 .
For more information on this event or any of the other events taking place for Heritage Week, please contact The Workhouse on 0749136540.