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NEVER HAVE WE felt as sad about machinery sitting out in a yard.
This was the scene at the Oatfield sweet factory in Letterkenny, Co Donegal this morning as sweet-making machines were removed from the building in anticipation of production at the factory coming to an end.
The traditional Irish sweets, including Emerald caramels and Chocolate Orange boiled sweets, have been produced in Donegal since 1927. Sadly, last month TheJournal.ie reported that 15 jobs were to be lost as production is being moved to the UK.
All photos taken by TheJournal.ie reader Guy Le Jeune.
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Saw this and it brought a tear to my eye :-(
Sadly, there is now no reason to continue buying what were some of my favourite sweeties.
It will be interesting to monitor the labelling used in future by these manufacturers. I wonder if they will try spoofing–as Gateaux has done with their addition of the shamrock to their company logo.
Boyne Valley Foods (Drogheda) now own the Gateaux brand, so it’s still an Irish brand.
Does Boyne Valley manufacture Gateaux branded products in Ireland?
I have a pack of emeralds in my car, bought them last week. It’s very sad. I remember going to the oatfields factory on my school tour, and it was a veritable willy wonka experience.
Agree totally with you Ulick I remember visiting the factory and wanted to work there when I grew up. Paradise to a child and I still buy their sweets especially chocolate orange.
Surely if they are made in the UK they are not a Traditional Irish Sweet anymore .
Boyne Valley, the same brand that now markets Boyne Valley Honey? Honey that comes from bees that never saw Ireland much less the Boyne. Very reassuring!
At least they don’t claim it’s made in Ireland unlike our large banana manufacturing industry, or infer it like our now Portuguese fig rolls.
Another genuine Irish manufacturing company along with it’s jobs allowed to emigrate forever.
Are we all asleep?
Will you please send a letter to the Irish Union for Bees and ask them to direct its members to produce more stick stuff.
Oh, blame the workers, as usual!
Chinese Honey is what they use ,i would rather eat grass than that rubbish
But we go out for Chinese take away that never saw China!
Sad to see it go but not very surprised. They’ve been churning out the same old products since WWII and marketing them to the people who can remember it.
People who remember WWII are as much a part of society as teenagers who buy push pops.
I don’t remember WWII, but I will remember Oatfield sweets…
Have to agree with Sean.
This is the Spice Burgers all over again.
“Oh we can’t let them go” etc etc. When was the last time any of us bought an Oatfield product? Be honest!
You people don’t give a sh*t about the lives affected by those job loses and you’ll be the first shower to start whinging about dole spongers when the opportunity arises. I’d rather the had let Anglo fail,and yet here again another example of or governments failure to protect local business and local employment. An Irish company in Irish ownership forever is bought out in 2007 and jobs exported over the water never to return to Donegal, meanwhile we continue to pump money into these God awful banks. Globalisation is no not helping our country, an “open economy” is only a code word for being open to exploitation as foreign companies come here like locusts and bleed the place dry. Small Irish companies cannot compete head to head with global multinationals it’s not a level playing field.
I worked in convenience retail for 10 years and in that time can’t remember Oatfield bringing out a single new product, or certainly not one that made any significant impact in the market. This, coupled with a lack of advertising and seriously dated packaging/branding lead to a decline in demand for their products and that is why they are where they are today. This has nothing to do with globalisation, or the banks or the government. It’s a business faltering through a lack of innovation and investment over many years. If the government is going to protect Irish companies I’d rather see them protect ones which are at least trying.
Cavan Cola – nicer than Football Special! Yet, no more! :(
Another empty building in Letterkenny, more anti-social behaviour :-( Cavan Cola has nothing on Football Special.
I certainly will not buy Oatfield again, that is my small protest
have your say