Waterford’s largest and oldest antiques dealership and auction house may have one foot firmly rooted in the past but it’s also keeping abreast of the latest trends.

Established in Kilmacthomas in 1949 by the current owner's father Patrick, RJ Keighery Antiques has since become a mainstay in nearby Waterford city. For a time Patrick Keighery had shops in both locations but eventually closed the Kilmacthomas outlet to concentrate on the booming city-centre business.

Based on William Street since 1968, the business is now run by Patrick’s son Rody and his wife, Anne, together with their son, Thomas.

While the antiques shop has been operating successfully for more than 60 years, it is the auctioneering side to the business that has helped the family prosper.

What began as a sideline in the 1980s became a fully fledged operation in 1992, when the Keigherys bought a 465sq m purpose-built premises adjoining the antiques store, where auctions are regularly held.

"We usually hold between 10 and 12 auctions a year, most of which focus on antique and general items, but we also hold a number of specialised ones as well, focusing on things like pub and restaurant memorabilia, jewellery and so on," said Anne Keighery.

Worldwide audience “Our auctions have quite a big following locally, as do the country house ones we do where we set up a marquee and the rostrum on location. We don’t do live bidding online but our auctions are up on our website and so have gained popularity with a worldwide audience,” she added.

“In our last auction, items went to New Zealand, Australia, the US, China and Vietnam, rather than just locally. Some goods like Waterford Crystal are very popular outside of Ireland.”

The key to being a success as an auctioneer is, she said, to be a bit of an entertainer.

“My husband is a big character. You need to have lots of jokes to hand because sometimes the auctions could have up to 1,200 lots and so we’d be running from, say, 10.30am to 8pm. You have to have some fun if you’re going to keep people there for the day.”

She said that having the auctions meant it was easier to sell items sourced from Waterford and its environs.

“We’ve found it can be difficult to sell local furniture in the shop sometimes because people don’t like to see the mark- up on items, despite there needing to be one if we’re to survive. Auctions are easier in some ways, because we just operate on commission,” she said.

The auctions business has continued to grow to the point where it accounts for about 70 per cent of the business. Anne said the recession had a negative effect on both sides of the family business nonetheless.

Decline in house sales “Things got quieter for a while. With the decline in house sales, there was a reduction in both the quantity and quality of items coming into us,” she said.

“Two years ago things were at a standstill. Obviously the property market is a major source of goods for us. It’s great that houses are selling and that the contents are coming into us again.

“Another issue, of course, was that there were fewer buyers during the recession but then again there are always some people out there with money no matter what and good things will always find their price.

“It’s the lesser furniture that tends to suffer, while the higher quality items still sell regardless of the state of the economy.”

She added that that the Celtic Tiger years were not necessarily the best of times either, as “people were more focused on buying property rather than furniture”.

To stay in business for so long, the Keigherys have had to be aware of changing tastes. That means watching beautiful large Victorian furniture go for next to nothing while smaller, more recent items such as Formica tables from the 1970s sell for more than they are intrinsically worth.

In recent years the business has tried to stay abreast of changes in fashion and in doing so has won a new audience among younger people.

“Things have gone back to basics. There’s a lot of interest in vintage items and young people are tending to buy furniture piecemeal rather than getting a loan from the bank and getting it all from one shop,” she said.

The shop has also started focusing on smaller antique items to appeal to tourists coming into the city on cruise ships, who are more interested in trinkets than Georgian fireplaces.

Optimistic With son Thomas now helping the business to take further steps online, Anne is optimistic about the future.

“The main thing we’ve learned is that you have to embrace trends and accept that things aren’t necessarily as you’d want them,” she said.

“Years ago my husband would have been horrified at the idea of people painting a Victorian wardrobe for example, as is now the fashion. But these days he just accepts that this is what people want to do and that our job is to sell, so that’s what we focus on doing.”