![\"Ann](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4859382_2_articleinline_HC_20Nevilles_20Youghal_206b.jpg\" "\\"Ann")
Ann and Pauline Neville of Nevilles pictured at one of the counters at their store in Youghal. Picture: Howard Crowdy<\/p>\nWhen Nevilles shop, a cornerstone of North Main Street, Youghal celebrated a remarkable milestone this month; marking 80 years in business, messages and recollections of lovely memories, from people near and far, came thick and fast.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur 80th anniversary was on November 1, Dad\u2019s birthday!\u201d says Pauline Neville, marvelling at the happy coincidence.<\/p>\n
Nevilles has always been a sociable place for a friendly chat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got one message from a man in the States that we had a good laugh over,\u201d says Pauline, who runs the drapery shop with her sister, Ann, specialising in ladies and men\u2019s fashion, childrenswear, household textiles, school uniforms, and personalised embroidery.<\/p>\n
What was the cause of such merriment when the 80th anniversary celebrations were in full swing?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man calling us from the USA, told us that he remembered his mother bringing him into Nevilles shop to get fitted out for his First Communion suit,\u201d says Pauline, who is also an artist of note.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe said that he remembered he was in his underwear in the middle of the floor, no such thing as a changing room or any privacy, while various trousers and jackets were brought to his mother for her perusal.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
The man, now a grandfather, who felt he had to contact the Neville sisters to congratulate them on the occasion of their 80th anniversary, remembered something else.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the women in the shop, including your mother and my mother, were standing around chatting and smoking cigarettes!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pauline and Ann exchange looks and winks that suggest that this really was the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the day when Fair Day was on the Green, Fairfield, across the road, we\u2019d have lots of women shopping in town that day and they would often sit on a chair outside the shop counter and have a chat and a laugh together,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a lot of people, shopping in Nevilles was a social highlight. On Fair Days the men would treat their wives to a new dress or skirt. That caused great excitement!<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone put in their twopence-halfpenny making a choice of purchase in bygone days. We all had our opinion in the style of dress and what would look well and what would go with a chosen outfit. We were in our element!\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone engaged in the hub of social activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cGossip was never a thing,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe local women genuinely wanted to have a good chat with each other about all the happenings around that time and about members of their families; where they were, what they were doing.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cThat hasn\u2019t changed much up to the present day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some things have changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the mothers might leave their child outside the shop in the buggy while they went next door,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would ask us to keep an eye on the child and we duly obliged. That wouldn\u2019t happen now!\u201d<\/p>\n
The enthusiastic shoppers enjoyed other things together back in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few of the ladies indulged in smoking fags when they were allowed to smoke indoors,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair Day was a day to celebrate, when animals were sold and deals were done,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
Ann and Pauline Neville of Nevilles pictured at one of the counters at their store in Youghal. Picture: Howard Crowdy<\/p>\n
Another 80th anniversary message divulged that the first stock of oilskins in Nevilles were sought after from the hard-working men of east Cork.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Power said he got his first oilskins here in the shop from daddy. They lasted forever!\u201d<\/p>\n
William Neville was a man of his time.<\/p>\n
He was a people person, proud of his profession, and proud of his corner on North Main Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy stocked everything from a thimble to overalls,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the local men got their work gear here as well as their \u2018good\u2019 wear.\u201d<\/p>\n
When William Neville purchased on North Main Street in Youghal in 1945; he bought the most expensive shop on the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe premises cost \u00a31,200,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
Entering Nevilles is like going back in time.<\/p>\n
It has that old-age familiar shop atmosphere where you feel free to browse, and to interact with Ann and Pauline, who take the time to make you feel right at home.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cOver the decades, measurements were taken for curtains, the towels for wedding gifts were purchased, and fashionable outfits were assembled.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember putting lengths of lining for suits together with mam to send to the tailor,\u201d says Pauline.<\/p>\n
The sisters have the shop well-laid out with their wares.<\/p>\n
And yes! There are two changing rooms to try on the array of fashionable clothes and other lovely apparel.<\/p>\n
Going back 80 years, the original wooden floor is still intact, as is the original solid mahogany counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe floor and counter have lasted this long without any major marking or deterioration,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here, men got fitted out for the good suit, ladies got fitted out for the \u2018costume\u2019, or the outfit for the \u2018mother of the bride\u2019.<\/p>\n
Was William Neville always a draper and a businessman?<\/p>\n
\u201cDad was from farming stock in Ballynoe,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis wife, Kathleen, was from Leamlara.\u201d<\/p>\n
William and Kathleen made a good team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey learned the trade together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple were traditional people.<\/p>\n
\u201cMam and Dad got married in St. Patrick\u2019s Church in Cork and they had their wedding reception in the Metropole Hotel before heading to Dublin on honeymoon,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
The Nevilles had five daughters; Bridget, Mary, Bernadette, Ann, and Pauline.<\/p>\n
Mary, who sadly passed away age 51 from cancer in 2009, was a born shopkeeper.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter school, Mary would just drop her sack and head straight to the shop,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary had no interest in school!<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved the shop and everything to do with it. The customers loved her. Mary was a born shopkeeper.\u201d<\/p>\n
I admire the lovely photograph of Mary hanging up over the shop counter.<\/p>\n
Ann and Pauline, like their sister, Mary, are born shopkeepers too.<\/p>\n
They do all their buying for the shop together and they know their local customers by their first names.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur customers come from Youghal, east Cork, Cork, West Waterford and Tallow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters set a good trend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe grandchildren of former customers who came here in buggies, now come to shop with their own children!\u201d<\/p>\n
Being beside the seaside in sweet Youghal bay, is a great asset for trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen covid happened and people could only travel 5km outside of their own county, everyone headed to the seaside,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really busy!\u201d<\/p>\n
Reminiscing about a family business that has lasted 80 years and still going strong, the sisters recall tales of yore.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up daddy told us all about the film
\n \u201cHe told us all about the famous film stars who arrived in Youghal like Gregory Peck. Our neighbour was an extra in the film. That was a big deal!\u201d\n <\/p>\n
It was a big deal when a prize bull destined for sale at Fairfield took a fancy to the shop window on North Main Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bull escaped from across the road,\u201d says Ann.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was finally rounded up!\u201d<\/p>\n
The old worlde charm of Nevilles is alive and well.<\/p>\n
Why has Nevilles, a cornerstone in North Main Street Youghal, lasted so long?<\/p>\n
Ann and Pauline exchange knowing looks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is in our blood.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Nevilles shop, a cornerstone of North Main Street, Youghal celebrated a remarkable milestone this month; marking 80…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[2736,79,20149,18,19,17,58305],"class_list":{"0":"post-182453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-cork-business","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-east-cork","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-youghal"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115555129689139568","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}