Kerry Woollen Mills April 17, 2008

On Nationwide last night one of the clips was about the Kerry Woollen Mills in Beaufort, County Kerry, Ireland.  We lament the disappearance of many mills in the British Isles but Kerry Woollen Mills appears to be thriving.  The business is over 100 years old.  It was established 104 years ago by a Scotsman named Eadie. 

 

To quote from the Kerry Woollen Mills website: 

“Kerry Woollen Mills is one of the last surviving traditional woollen mills still manufacturing in the beautiful Kerry countryside. Established over 300 years ago to alleviate local poverty the mill drew on the adjacent River Gweestin for the power to drive its machinery and the water to wash and dye its wool. The mill was bought over by the Eadie family in 1904 who had previously been in the woollen manufacturing business for many years in Fermangh and Scotland and continues under the fourth generation of family ownership to this day.

The mill is set in a rural location with many of the three hundred year old buildings still standing and functional! The machinery has of course changed many times over the years!”

I think it is the great grandson, Andrew Eadie, who is the current owner/manager.   True to his Scottish heritage, Andrew attended the Scottish College of Textiles when it came time for him for enter the business as an adult.  Of course he had grown up surrounded by the whirr of the machines and all the processes involved.  Two points struck me especially about the programme - the use of imported wool and the dependence on the American tourist.  Most of the wool they use is imported from Australia.  They process the fine Australian merino wool and then make it up into lap rugs, shawls, blankets, garments, etc.   They have a shop at the mill site and they are heavily dependent on American tourists coming to visit and purchase from the shop.   Andrew said that Americans were the life blood of their business.

I have commented before about the difficulties In shopping for knitting wool in Dublin and the closing down of a number of wool shops.  Well, even in years past I have not been that aware of knitting yarn from Kerry Woollen Mills.  It has only been when I have gone to the West of Ireland to Connemara or County Mayo that I have found hanks of bainin (white yarn) from Kerry Woollen Mills.  I see from their website that they do have knitting yarn and I’m sure that if I went to their mill shop I would find it there.  Otherwise, I suppose failing a trip to the West, I could order it from the website.

On another note, here’s the message I was given today in Irish class.  Éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhaidh tú breac.  Which in translation means “Listen to the sound of the river and you will get a trout.” Guess where this came from - a sugar packet from a local Chinese restaurant. 

And finally, if you read my earlier blog about the Leargas programme featuring Tomás MacNiocláis - yes it was my Irish teacher filmed as part of the Irish Book Group.  I found out today that they meet once a month and that there are about 12 of them in the group.  She said that RTE spent at least an hour filming them and in the programme they were shown for about half a minute.  Just shows you how much editing goes on.