Baltinglass business that bucks the trends
REPORTER DAVID MEDCALF CALLED IN TO BALTINGLASS WHERE HE JOINED THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS AT THE KAIDEEN KNITWEAR COMPANY, FOUNDED IN 1969 BY MARTIN DOOGUE AND STILL IN THE HANDS OF HIS FAMILY
NAMED after the mountain behind its headquarters in Baltinglass, Kaideen and Company Limited has now been in business for half a century. It was back in November of 1969 that entrepreneur Martin Doogue received his certificate of incorporation issued by the Companies Office.
Fifty years on, the 86 year old retains an active interest in the knitwear enterprise he founded, though the day-to-day running of the show is carried out by his sons Brendan and Niall. The fact that Kaideen continues to trade successfully in the ultra cut-throat world of clothing is a phenomenon in teeth of competition from Asia sweat-shops. But father and sons have proven adept at adapting their outfit to deal with the ever-changing market, so who is to say that it will not be still around in 2069. The story of how a company which began as a local community initiative has devolved to take its place in the world of online retailing is worth telling…
Martin Doogue – the family name comes of French stock who emigrated from the Continent in the mid-18th century – is a Carlow man. One of 10 children, he enjoyed playing Gaelic football as a boy, winning county minor championship medals as a minor with the O’Hanrahans club. Though he never matched the exploits of his illustrious cousin Ned Doogue, he was good enough to be selected for his county as a minor. But progress to higher levels of the game was stymied by a move to Dublin where he began to carve a prosperous career for himself.
Martin had an eye for clothes, which he developed as a buyer, first with Kingstons and later with Boyers and Arnotts. He found romance too in the city, meeting and marrying his wife Bernadette (née King) who also hailed from Carlow and who worked for Hoover. The couple appeared well set, to the extent that they were able to acquire a home in well-to-do Sutton Park, close to picturesque Howth.
But Martin was intellectually restless and a visit to Donegal gave him food for thought. He made the acquaintance there of the legendary Father James McDyer who was leading initiatives to staunch emigration from his parish in Glencolmcille. The Carlovian was also friendly at the time with Baltinglass curate Father Tommy Brophy.
Perhaps, the two men pondered, there was scope for West Wicklow to follow the pioneering example being set in West Donegal. The priest identified a suitable start-up premises in the form of the old boys’ school at the top of Baltinglass town which was vacant at the time. Built in 1899, it may have been designed for a completely different purpose but at least it offered a fine big room ready for immediate occupation. Martin took the decision to resign from Arnotts and channel his expertise in the rag trade into Kaideen and Company Limited.
‘I was in a very good job in Dublin but thank God everything worked out right for me,’ says the maverick entrepreneur of the move he made half a century ago. The business has since been transferred out of the Hacketstown Road to the town’s industrial estate but memories of the schoolhouse are preserved in a photograph on the wall in the office. The fading image shows the workers – all female and mostly teenaged – in a maze of machinery and finished knitwear.