Sir, - I am writing to you as manager of Donegal Carpets to seek your assistance. This business was established in 1898 by Alexander Morton. Over a period, he opened a total of four factories in Co Donegal. However, it was only the Killybegs operation which was able to survive to this day, albeit haltingly. Following a period of uncertainty and short closures, during which time the factory fell into disrepair, a group of local people, collectively known as Killybegs Enterprise Group, restarted the business with the help of FAS and other agencies. Approximately four years later the business has been taken over, to be run once again as a private concern.
I have found since taking over the management here that there is very little information on the "Donegals" sold over the past century. Records are very scant indeed. Certainly we have information on the more obvious purchasers down the years, such as Dublin Castle, The White House, Buckingham Palace, etc., but there are hundreds of our rugs, even thousands, unaccounted for. Also I was very disappointed to find our photographic records to be almost non-existent.
Now I want to launch a national and international quest to find our old (and not so old) "Donegals". I want to know where they are today, their current ownership, when they were bought, how much they were bought for; in fact I want any information I can get on them, which will I hope include photographs. I also want to find any documentation relevant to the business, such as old invoices, contracts, design sketches, accounts books, letters. My Holy Grail, however, has to be photographic material, stretching back to the earliest stages of this firm.
The purpose of this research is to develop a heritage centre/museum at our premises. This information would also enable us to provide a comprehensive background to Donegal Carpets for use on our planned website, which should create new business for us, but also provide valuable research material for students of the textile industry and its history.
I would ask your readers who are owners of "Donegals" or related documentation to contact myself by post, giving as much information as possible on their possessions. Current photographs would be greatly appreciated. Any original documents donated will be carefully preserved for use in our proposed museum /heritage centre. I would also appeal to anyone dealing in antique carpets to contact me with any relevant information at the address below. - Yours, etc., Michael P. McDaid,
Manager, Donegal Carpets, Killybegs, Co Donegal.