Old Irish Crafts and Trades — Lace, Linen, Tweed, Crystal and Thatch

Thatching · Undated tradition · tradition
The thatched cottage (teach ceann tuí) was once found all over Ireland; most have since fallen into ruin or been replaced. Shannon gandelows were used to cut reed for thatch. The gandelow →
Source: Cottage ↗ · Gandelow ↗
The forge and the blacksmith · Undated tradition · tradition
Old Irish gobae means smith, and Goibniu was the smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who forged their weapons for the battle with the Fomorians. Brigid is sometimes called the patroness of blacksmiths. We have found no reliable count of working forges for any date. Irish myths →
Source: Goibniu ↗ · Blacksmith ↗
Creameries · 1889 · Limerick
The first co-operative creamery was set up at Dromcollogher in 1889; Horace Plunkett helped found the second, at Ballyhahill, in 1891, and the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society in 1894. By autumn 1903 there were 360 dairy societies. Irish food →
Source: Irish Agricultural Organisation Society ↗ · Dromcollogher ↗
Ulster linen · 1698 · Antrim
Lisburn calls itself the birthplace of Ireland's linen industry. The Huguenot Louis Crommelin arrived there in 1698 to direct the royal linen manufacture; William Coulson set up looms in 1764, and Barbour's thread mill at Hilden grew to be the largest of its kind in the world. Irish linen spinning has now virtually ceased.
Source: Louis Crommelin ↗ · Lisburn ↗ · Irish linen ↗
Carrickmacross lace · c. 1820 · Monaghan
Appliqué on net, brought in about 1820 by Mrs Grey Porter of Donaghmoyne after seeing Italian lace on her honeymoon. It found a market after a lace school opened at Carrickmacross in 1846 to help starving tenants; the name was fixed only in 1872.
Source: Carrickmacross lace ↗
Limerick lace · 1829 · Limerick
Embroidery on machine-made net, in tambour and needlerun forms. Charles Walker of Oxfordshire founded the industry in 1829, bringing 24 girls to teach; factories later employed almost 2,000 women and girls.
Source: Limerick lace ↗
Belleek Pottery · 1858 · Fermanagh
John Caldwell Bloomfield found feldspar and kaolin on his Castle Caldwell estate in 1852. Building at Belleek began in 1858 and the Parian ware it is known for was first made successfully in 1863. 1857 is sometimes given as the founding year; the source we follow does not give it, so we use 1858.
Source: Belleek Pottery ↗
Waterford Crystal · 1783 and 1947 · Waterford
George and William Penrose opened the Waterford Glassworks in 1783; it closed in 1851. The modern firm began building at Ballytruckle in April 1947, with continental craftsmen such as the designer Miroslav Havel. The main factory closed in 2009 and the firm reopened on The Mall in 2010.
Source: Waterford Crystal ↗
Donegal tweed · By 1869 · Donegal
Handwoven at home for centuries; the name "Donegal tweed" was in print by May 1869, and the modern cloth took shape in the 1880s. Magee of Donegal Town dates from 1866. Mechanised looms came in the 1950s–60s.
Source: Donegal tweed ↗
Kilkenny Design Workshops · 1963–1988 · Kilkenny
A state design centre set up in 1963 and opened in the Ormonde Stables in 1965, with workshops in ceramics, metalwork, woodturning and textiles; it closed in 1988.
Source: Kilkenny Design Workshops ↗
Súgán chairs · Undated tradition · tradition
Súgán is Irish for straw rope, woven into cradles, baskets and, best known, chair seats on a wooden frame. As an insult it means "a man of straw", as in the Súgán Earl of Desmond.
Source: Súgán ↗
St Brigid's crosses · Attested from the 17th century · tradition
Tradition: woven from rushes or straw on 1 February and hung from the rafters for the saint's protection through the year. The practice is first recorded in the 17th century; the National Museum sorts the crosses into seven basic types. St Brigid's Day →
Source: Brigid's cross ↗

Quick answers

When did Waterford Crystal start?

Twice: the Penroses' Waterford Glassworks opened in 1783 and closed in 1851; the modern company began building its factory in 1947.

Where was the first creamery in Ireland?

The first co-operative creamery was set up at Dromcollogher, County Limerick, in 1889.

What is the difference between Carrickmacross and Limerick lace?

Carrickmacross lace is appliqué: muslin stitched onto net and the excess cut away. Limerick lace is embroidered into the net, with a tambour hook or a needle.

Irish food → · Harbours and boats → · St Brigid's Day → · Inventions →

Old crafts and trades