In Good Hands

The Weavers of Donegal (1978) (1x1)

Data di messa in onda: Mag 31, 2013

David visits Ardara in Donegal to see how the once-thriving business of handmade tweed has weathered the onslaught of power looms and international competition. The centuries old production of hand-made Irish tweed has its traditional heartland in the rural communities of Donegal, especially the small town of Ardara in the south west. In 1978, when David came here to film the MacNeilis brothers, Conail, Jimmy and John, more than one hundred traditional hand weavers were still plying their trade, making quality jackets, coats, quilts and scarves for leading designers around the world. The MacNeilis brothers, master weavers and prodigious workhorses, produced exquisite designs for Magees of Donegal from their humble workshop. David meets the last surviving brother Conail, a font of stories and lore from the old days, but now sadly deceased since this series was filmed. David also visits Studio Donegal in nearby Kilcar, struggling to compete against the mass production giants and power looms of the tweed industry with just two remaining traditional handweavers - both employed on a part-time basis. Here David meets freelance master weavers John Hena and Eddie Doherty - John working freelance, and Eddie, weaving his own designs at his shop, exporting beautiful hand woven fabrics around the world.