The job offer that brought Anne Ellen from Blacklion to Quigley’s Point marked the beginning of a new chapter in Donegal. In Inishowen, overlooking Lough Foyle, Quigley’s Point became the setting for these early years of work, friendship and a growing life beyond home. Much of that time survives in photographs, and it is through those photographs — of Mam, the people around her and the places in which she lived — that Destination Donegal is mainly told.
The Journey to Quigley’s Point
Lough Swilly bus to Quigley’s Point
J. P. McIvor & Sons Ltd. — Quigley’s Point, Muff and Burnfoot
McIvor’s operated businesses at Quigley’s Point, Muff and Burnfoot, with Quigley’s Point identified as the Head Office. Mam’s job offer placed her in the drapery there, while this promotional piece also shows the firm’s Quigley’s Point bar. Its mock “Free Pass” is deliberately tongue-in-cheek, joking that the bearer may travel freely provided he supplies his own bicycle, luggage and effort — and, naturally, spends his money at McIvor’s.
The business served a rural border community still emerging from the shortages and controls of the war years. By the time Mam arrived, restrictions on clothing and textiles were being dismantled, but shortages and high prices had not disappeared. With Quigley’s Point on the road between Derry and Moville, the shop stood within a district where the border, differing prices and the availability of goods remained part of everyday commercial life.
Mam at Quigley’s Point
Mam at Quigley’s Point
The Parochial Sports — Quigley’s Point poster behind Mam provides a direct location for the photograph. The distinctive shoes she is wearing also appear in other photographs from these years.
Work at McIvor’s
Mam with a colleague examining cloth
A Sunday Morning Routine
Mam & company overlooking Lough Foyle, with Drung Catholic Church shown alongside. Sunday Mass at Drung formed part of the weekly life of the area.
Mam & Company with Bicycles
Mam with a group and bicycles
Social Life
Mam with companions at Quigley’s Point
Everyday Quigley’s Point
Mam on the road at Quigley’s Point
CAR NOTE:
A little detective work on the car registration led first to Abbott Import Co. Ltd., a wholesale food importer at 29/30 Dame Street, Dublin — a false trail — before the record eventually brought the car back to Donegal, where James Gallagher of Meelaragh was its last registered owner in May 1955.
View supporting research on the car registration
