THIS year, the much-loved family-owned Twomey Jewellers celebrates half a century in business.

Owner and manager Veronica Twomey is also marking her 30th year working in the shop and has watched the business evolve and change over the intervening years.

"I've now been working here longer than my dad was working here," she says, "which is very funny, in a way, because it was his dream to open the shop."

The Beginning

It was her father Sean Twomey who established Twomey Jewellers on the 6th of June 1976 on Market Square, Dunmanway, having returned from the UK.

Seán went into the trade of watchmaking, starting in the former Duignan's Jewellers in Skibbereen, before moving to London to achieve a Masters at the Horological Institute.

After his time working at Keanes in Cork, he became both a watchmaker and a jeweller.

"He had his sister Marie working here with him. He worked here for 20 years.

Unfortunately, he got sick very young and had to stop working. At the time, I was just finishing an Arts Degree at the Crawford College of Art & Design, so I finished out my degree and took over the place in 1996.

I ran it with my aunt for about 5 or 6 years. She then retired and I've been running the place since."

Both Sean and Marie have passed away since, but the shop carries on under the guidance of Veronica, where she has seen great changes in the business.

"The jewellery trade has changed a lot," she says. "When you say that you own a jewellery shop, a lot of people automatically think of engagement rings.

And, of course, we do that but we do a lot more than that—we cater for every price and every fashion because it's such a small community.

"If someone comes in and wants to spend just €20 or another wants to spend €1,000, we treat each customer with the same care."

With dedicated watch and jewellery repair services, as well as engravings for special sporting or personal occasions, Twomey's is a vital pearl in the necklace of the local community.

The mainstay of their clientele is local, she says, with the vast majority of people coming through the door being from the area.

That said, Veronica also sees an increasing number of tourists discovering Dunmanway and her jewellery shop.

"But essentially, we have very much a local, loyal customer base for which we're very grateful," says Veronica, "and now I'm here long enough to see the different generations coming in, which is lovely; I'd sometimes see customers coming in and know that their grandmother might have dealt with my father, for example."

It is Twomey Jeweller's ability to adapt to the changing times, as well as the support of their strong local clientele that have allowed them to survive so well in business over the decades.