Donegal Pens boys complete workshop project
Ronan and Conor Mc Garvey with Alan Grant of Expert Hardware at the Donegal Pens open day in Loughanure on Saturday. Expert Hardware have provided the boys with the new workshop and woodturning lathe.
Donegal Pens brothers Ronan and Conor Mc Garvey celebrated the completion and opening of their new workshop and installation of new equipment with an open day on Saturday.
The brothers received sponsorship of €4,500 euro from the Expert Hardware company who came on board to provide them with new facilities when they were turned down for any grant aid because they are both under eighteen – all thanks to Morning Ireland that aired their plight in December.
Alan Grant, a director of Expert Hardware, that has just under 50 outlets nationwide, heard about their plight on Morning Ireland before Christmas and offered to fund the new 7 X 4m workshop and a new Record Power Nova Lathe to the tune of €4,500.
Mr Grant was on site on Saturday in Loughanure to see the boys working in their new premises and with the new equipment. The workshop is now fully complete and its all systems go for the enterprising brothers.
The schoolboys set up Donegal Pens over two years ago and have been going from strength to strength with orders shipping worldwide and many companies now also using the pens as corporate gifts. They have also updated their website www.donegalpens.com and the revised version went live on Saturday as well.
Ronan, 15 said he and Conor, 12, are delighted that the project is now complete adding that the new workshop is just brilliant.
“Everything is in place now and thanks to Alan Grant and all at Expert Hardware we have a brilliant new workshop and equipment. When reporter Lisa Mc Kelvey’s package aired on Morning Ireland little did we think we’d have gotten this response. We expected maybe a few companies would have offered to buy pens as corporate gifts but never a new workshop.
“We are also delighted to hear that Expert Hardware has signed up its first outlet in Donegal – Mc Clafferty’s Mace & Hardware store just out the road from us in Gortahork. The open day gave people the chance to see us at work and get a first hand view on how we make the pens,” he said.
Alan Grant of Expert Hardware said they are delighted to support Ronan and Conor in their enterprise and wished them well in the future.
“Ronan and Conor are an inspiration to any young person with a business idea who has the passion and commitment to follow through on their vision. It is great to see such talent coming through and we as a nation must support, nurture and invest in such talent and not discriminate due to age. Ireland’s future is dependent on the youth of today and we at Expert Hardware believe in the Mc Garvey brothers and will give any support we can,” he said.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Donegal
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 10 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
