Acoustic Cleaners To Bicycles - Innovation Runs In The Family

In previous blogs, I have mentioned that I was brought up in the small country town of Dromore, Co Down, Northern Ireland.

My mother’s maiden name was Magill which was a widely known family name in the surrounding area. Although with the development of our dynamic range of acoustic cleaners I claim to be an innovative sort of chap, it seems that perhaps I am following in the Magill family tradition.

My mother’s father was James Magill who was a cobbler in Dromore and the family lived in a small terrace house built in 1870. My grandfather used the front room for his cobbling business and the family, all eight of them lived in the back room and upstairs. Around 1903 cycling was becoming very fashionable and indeed affordable and so he decided to be innovative and learn how to build and repair bicycles. At that time this was quite a risky venture and so he kept up his cobbling during the day and concentrated on the cycle business during the evening and night time. He always had a small sign on display which read ‘DO NOT ASK FOR CREDIT AS IT OFTEN OFFENDS’

Well he obviously made a success of his new innovative business venture and in 1913 he bought the house next door to extend his cycle build and repair business. Indeed some years later he moved to a larger house in Princess Street, Dromore which still stands today. The original house in Meeting Street where my mother was born was demolished brick by brick and re-built at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum near Belfast.

I had a brief opportunity to visit our original Magill family home last year and here I am standing in my Grandfather’s cycle repair room.

Innovative business ideas seem to run in the family!