The Mallow College of Design and Tailoring should really be called the Mary Cashman College. I went through the doors of the college in 1995 – another stay-at-home mother looking for a hobby! I had no experience at all, apart from a love of fashion. I left 3 years later – a qualified fashion designer and winner of the prestigious City and Guilds Medal of Excellence. The journey in between was inspirational .. a physical sense of a door opening into a whole world of creativity. I chose to go for it! And that’s what I did! The highlight for me, was seeing my designs on the catwalk-even now, 16 years later, nothing beats that feeling. I went on to set up Ireland’s first mail-order children’s wear label and won a few awards along the way. .. but I could not have done it without Mary. Mary Cashman doesn’t believe in “No, I Can’t”. Instead, she rolls up her sleeves and says determinedly “Yes, you can!”…and she was saying it long before Barack Obama!! I would say to anyone who is contemplating fashion and design as a qualification- take the journey to Mallow College of Design and Tailoring, and Mary Cashman will take you wherever you choose to go…it’s your journey after all!
Deborah Maguire, Yellow House – Woodpark, Kilnap, Co. Cork.
