Doherty’s designs its last suite

LAST week saw one of the county’s most-beloved and longest serving family-run businesses, Doherty’s Designer Suites, finally close its doors.

Operating in Strabane town centre for the past 43 years, trading came to an end at midday on Friday.

Laurence Doherty, owner of the business, recalled how his father, also named Laurence, opened up the business on Lower Main Street on October 11, 1979.

“He began the business by himself, working as an upholsterer,” Laurence remarked.

“There wasn’t an upholsterer in the town at the time, and still isn’t, so he always had plenty of work coming in, not just from Strabane, but from Derry, Omagh and Donegal. That level of trade has stuck with us through our 43 years, which is an absolute testament to the work we do.”

Laurence Snr initially worked alongside his sons, Tom and Joe, with Laurence Jnr eventually joining the family trade.

Despite being in business in a border town during the Troubles, Laurence says that the company never experienced any bother.

Even the famous flood which engulfed Strabane in 1987, and, with it, the Doherty business, couldn’t put an end to things.

Did the family think that this was the end?

“Yes, for a moment we did to be honest. The flood devastated the town. However, my dad being my dad, says ‘Let’s just get on with it’. We emptied out the place, let it dry, and just began again. Such was his resilience; my dad wasn’t going to let it stop him. There was always going to be people looking for an upholsterer.”

He continued, “One job I remember quite fondly was when we got a chair from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. The job came to us through an antiques dealer called Eugene Collins, who was based in Downings. I remember it was a beautiful Chippendale chair, so valuable, that we didn’t even know its price. The job was quite clandestine; it was brought to us from Dublin one morning ,and back the next afternoon, and no-one but us knew it was there. The chair was so valuable that someone from the RCS had to come with it and stay overnight in Strabane.”

Laurence Snr retired from the business in 1993, leaving his three sons at the helm.

A change of premises to John Wesley Street in 1995 brought with it a new arm to the business; the three sons branching out into making custom-made designer suites. Laurence remarked that it was, ‘the best decision we ever made’.

But, sadly, losing his brothers, prompted him to finally sell up.

“Tom died three years ago,” Laurence reflected. “We actually buried him on the first day of lockdown, and Joe passed away 18 months later. These tragedies devastated the family.

“I knew then that I couldn’t do it on my own, so I made the decision, and told Dad what I was going to do just before he died in April last year.

“It’s heart-breaking, obviously, but it was the right thing to do.

“There’s no-one in the younger generation of the family who wanted to take it on and upholstering is a dying art these days.

“I’ve had people tell me they don’t know where they’re going to go now that we’re closing, but it’s for the best.”

In closing, Laurence wished the new owner of the premises, Barney McNamee, all the very best in the future.