John Heena is a master traditional weaver from Ardara, Co.Donegal. He comes from a family of weavers. His uncle Frank Heena lived in Carrigart and he worked with McNutts in the 50s and his father worked for Magees. He recalls sitting beside these men years ago, watching them weave, when the old tilly oil lamps were still going and he took a big interest in it.

John has been a weaver since 1970 when he started work in his native Ardara with Gaelterra Eireann. When he began his career there was plenty of work for weavers and they were able to switch between employers as John did when he moved between Gaelterra Eirean and Magees of Donegal Town for a number of years. John says that in Ardara alone there was 200 weavers at one stage but now this has trickled down to just two weavers.

John is presently in charge of a number of  students in conjunction with the Donegal ETB as he tries to pass his skills on to the next generation in the last few years a number of students have passed through his classes in Ardara and Letterkenny as he tries to keep the traditional weaving alive.

John is a well-known figure at craft fairs and exhibitions and in 2015 he took part in an Exhibition with Studio Donegal at Dublin Airport. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad over the last few years. He supplies his local hand-woven blankets and scarves at the Workhouse year round, and this year for Heritage Week he will bring his portable hand-loom along to give those in attendance the chance to see a traditional hand weaver at work and to maybe try their hand at this ancient craft themselves .