History of Urney Parish recorded

An intriguing parcel arrived in my postbox last week from my good friend John Haire of Strabane. I was pleasantly surprised to find a book about the history of the parish of Urney. Urney parish consists of townlands from counties Tyrone and Donegal and it was where Urney Chocolates first began trading in 1919. Leafing through the book I came upon the chapter "Urney Chocolates, Sweet Success" written by John's brother William. It details the history of the factory from its inception to its closure. 

There is a lovely anecdote about factory founder Eileen Gallagher in her role of traveling saleswoman during the factory's early years. Eileen noticed that one shop down the country was placing large orders for Urney produce. She asked the shopkeeper how the customers liked the sweets only to get the reply "The farmers find them great in their tea as sugar is still rationed." Probably not the answer Eileen had hoped for! Luckily, this lack of appreciation for her efforts as confectioner did not dampen her spirits too much and the business went from strength to strength.


The publication, titled Urney, History, People, Place (ISBN: 978-0-9568891-0-2) covers all aspects of parish life from remarkable individuals that came from the area to religion, farming and industry. Published by Doneyloop Youth Club and edited by Daniel McMenamin, many authors have contributed to the publication resulting in a valuable and engaging local history resource. Thank you John!

Trip to Urney- where it all started...

Last week-end mum and myself took drove to Tyrone where the story of Urney Chocolates all began. Urney, meaning place of prayer, is a parish just outside Strabane and straddles the Donegal-Tyrone border. The 5 gruelling hours it took to get were quickly forgotten on our arrival. We were met by John Haire, his brother William and John's lovely family who generously kept us fed and watered as we exchanged Urney Chocolates trivia. John and William are avid local historians and had a plethora of Urney memorabilia to show us. 

To make the experience more tangible John drove us out to the original site where the factory had started. There is now a graveyard where Urney House once stood overlooking the river Finn. (Please excuse the ropiness of my stitched-together landscape...) The production of confectionery had started in the cellar of Urney house until the former rectory burned down. Then a purpose-built factory and bungalow was erected on the grounds of the estate until 2 years later it was to suffer the same fate, which prompted the business to move south to Tallaght. There are no traces of these buildings left on the beautiful site but the views of the river winding through the gently undulating countryside can't have changed very much. John then took us to a few other sites (another blogs work) and we left over-laden with fantastic images and gathered information. They could not have been more helpful or more giving with their time, collections and hospitality. It was a truly memorable trip.

my very first blog post....

Well finally! Here I am in bloggerland. First off, thanks to my very clever big bruv who came up with the very catchy "yearning for Urney" phrase. Urney Chocolates was an Irish company set up in the early 1900s by my great grandparents. What started as a mild passing interest in family stuff soon ballooned into an all-consuming quest for the story of Urney Chocolates. Initially, I fancied the idea of illustrating my great grandmothers life (she was quite a lady!). But when I set to work on the modest little project I'd been tossing about in my head, it had grown into something a bit chunkier and, if I'm honest, scarier. But it is exciting. I'm about half-way through the venture and I'd love to share the story with you.