Crafts of ireland

Demonstrating and teaching traditional skills and crafts to people of all ages.

Some of us remember a time when handmade was not a description on a label, it was an everyday necessity for clothing and household items. Baking, churning butter, growing vegetables, and making jam were everyday tasks. Most women knew how to bake bread, knit, sew, and darn. Many of us have fond memories of the warm Aran jumpers that were knit for us and the smell of the freshly baked bread. Unfortunately through modernisation and changes to our lifestyles, we are losing many of these skills.

In 2016 we established Crafts of Ireland to allow us to share the many skills that we have learned and to do our part in preserving our rich craft heritage. Click through the menu above to follow our regular blog posts, find out about classes and demonstrations, or to get in touch with queries. We would love to hear from you and you can also follow us on Facebook.

Crafts - My passion

Growing up on a traditional rural farm I was exposed to crafting from a very young age, my grandmother and mother both baked traditional bread every day and in the evenings the sewing, mending, knitting and embroidery was done. My grandmother taught me how to sew on a Singer hand cranked sewing machine before allowing me to graduate to a treadle machine, my mother’s knitting needles clicked away as she knit jumpers for all of us. I was taught how to darn my father’s socks and how to turn the collars on his shirts.

My teacher in national school was also a big influence on my love of crafting, every Friday afternoon the books were left aside and we would learn all forms of crafting. Later in life I would enter my work in local agricultural shows and then in 2012 I entered Craft Master a joint TV production between The Design and Craft Council of Ireland and RTE. I was very lucky to win the knitwear section under the guidance of expert knitter and mentor Edel McBride. Today my skills range from wool spinning to lace making and numerous other crafts in between. I am a member of the DCCOI and sharing my craft skills is my passion.

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