It’s a sour end to what was once Donegal’s sweet success stories.
The diggers finally moved in to demolish the Oatfield’s Sweet Factory this morning.
The building, which was sent the aroma of chocolate around the streets of the Cathedral Town, is no more.
Symbolically the demolish men have left the sign proclaiming the famous Oatfields brand until last year.
The factory, which mass-produced the Emerald chocolates and Orange chocolates, sent their brands all around the world.
More than 80 people were employed at the factory at its height of production.
In recent years those numbers dwindled as competition and demand for the products grew smaller.
This morning two elderly men stood outside the factory and recalled the many factories which have disappeared in the town over the years.
“It’s a crying shame, that’s what it is. Not many people actually know why it was called Oatfields. The reason the McKinney family called it that was because it was built on the site of a cornfield.
“What are they going to do with it now? Are they going to turn it back into a cornfield. It’s such a shame this factory has been allowed to be pulled down,” he said.
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