Donegal woodturner Patrick Sweeney to demonstrate at McClay Building
Patrick Sweeney brought Donegal hardwoods to The McClay Building, showing how fallen trees become carved hollow forms, an ash sculpture and even a keep-sake urn.
Ulster Woodturning had Donegal woodcrafter Patrick Sweeney down as its guest demonstrator at The McClay Building on Saturday, 14 February 2026, with the session starting at 2.00pm. The club’s afternoon spot put a native of Donegal, working in woodcrafts since 1995, in front of an audience that could watch both woodturning and woodcarving from the same bench.
Sweeney’s work is built around locally sourced fallen trees, a theme that sits at the centre of his Patrick Sweeney Woodcrafts practice. He describes himself as an Irish woodturner and carver focused on sustainability and replanting, turning timber that has already come down into functioning and fine art forms. In woodturning terms, that means the audience was not just looking at finished objects, but at the way native Irish hardwoods can be given a second life.
The range on his own site points to the kind of live work attendees would have expected to see. A hand-carved coloured sycamore hollow form from Greenhill, Letterkenny, shows his interest in coloured surfaces and hollowing. A carved sculpture in native ash from Bogay, Letterkenny, brings in larger-scale turning and carving. Another listed piece, a hollow form in coloured black ash with a textured band and finial, is identified as a keep-sake cremation urn, which underlines how his work moves from display pieces to practical commissions.
That mix of hollow forms, finials, carving and finishing gave the demonstration real value for local turners and curious beginners alike. It showed how one maker can move between the lathe and the carving tools, shaping native timber into pieces that are both functional and decorative. Ulster Woodturning also notes that lunch is included at some of its Saturday demonstrations, part of the club-style programme that regularly brings guest demonstrators into the local turning scene.
For Donegal turners, Sweeney’s appearance at The McClay Building was a close look at a craftsman working with local wood, local places and a strong sense of purpose. The event put sustainability, carving and turning together in one room, with Donegal timber and Donegal skill at the centre of it.
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