About Us

Our family business

Our story began in the 1940’s when Edmond Donnelly, our founder, moved to Dublin and was employed as a fabric buyer in Hickeys which was a general merchants store.

This store closed down and Edmond started Hickeys Fabrics with one of the Hickeys brothers who left the business soon after. This was a period when making your own garment was a very popular value solution before the start of cheap clothing retailers.

His son Eamon Donnelly expanded the business by opening more stores across the country and introducing home furnishings to the product range as dress fabrics became a more specialist business.

Ian Donnelly became Managing Director in the mid-80s and developed a separate brand, Home Focus at Hickeys, which offered a range of soft furnishing products to complement our home furnishing fabrics in our first retail park store in Blanchardstown.

Home Focus at Hickeys grew to open 13 stores throughout Ireland, offering a wide range of fabrics, ready-made curtains, curtain poles, blinds, bedding, haberdashery & craft supplies and an expert curtain-making & fitting service – as well as an online store.

Dunelm The Home of Homes

In 2024, Home Focus at Hickeys was acquired by Dunelm, The Home of Homes.

The Dunelm story started in 1979, when founder Bill Adderley and his wife Jean set up a stall selling curtains and bedding on Leicester Market. Will Adderley, Bill and Jean’s son, was appointed managing director in 1996.

Today, Dunelm is the UK’s No. 1 homewares retailer*, with more than 200 stores across the UK and Ireland.

You’ll find easy updates, savvy solutions and beautifully crafted, great-value pieces to suit every style and space – in our stores and online at Dunelm.ie, where you can Click & Reserve to collect in store, or order direct to your door.

*Based on GlobalData UK homewares markets, for the period January 2024 to December 2024