They met in a carpet factory. Six decades later Cork couple weave time-travel 'tapestry'

Eve Kelliher discovers how Kay and Tom Donnelly and their former colleagues at Youghal Carpets joined forces with artist Katie Nolan to recreate the past

Tom Donnelly, left, and on right, with his wife Kay Donnelly at home in Youghal, above, in recent days, photographed by Howard Crowdy, and below, on their wedding day.

When Youghal Carpets opened in 1954, Tom Donnelly was sitting at his desk at the town’s secondary school.

A phone call came through to the headmaster from the company known locally simply as the carpet factory. “They were looking for a tea boy and a go-for,” he says.