Kenmare lace
Encyclopedia
Kenmare Lace is a hand made needlepoint lace
originally made in Kenmare
, Ireland. In the 19th century, sisters of the Poor Clare convent introduced needlepoint lace to the women and girls of the locality. It was a response to the poverty that followed the Great Famine. The initiative was of immeasurable help to the people of the area in those difficult years.
Its subsequent success was due partly to the indigenous skills of the local girls, who were employed to make it and partly to the foresight and guidance of the nuns and also to the early recognition and support it got from influential people of the time.
A major factor in the success of Kenmare Lace was the introduction of its own designs. Through the co-operation of the Kensington school of Design in London and the Crawford School of Art in Cork
a school of design was established in Kenmare. From this school came designs that won acclaim in exhibitions around the world. Kenmare Lace graced royal functions and liturgical occasions. It gained wide recognition and acclaim for its original designs and beautiful workmanship.
Eventually, economic factors brought about its decline and apparent demise until it was revived in 1989 by a local Co-Op in Kenmare. This came about when a local development association was formed and one of its members Nora Finnegan approached the nuns to ask them to again teach the lace to the locals. The nuns declined but offered instead to teach Nora who could instead teach the classes and so this tradition and its award-winning designs have not been lost and today they form the basis of the revival of the local skills. Kenmare Lace designs and pieces can still be seen in the Kenmare Heritage Centre and in the Kenmare Lace and Design Centre Upstairs.
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
originally made in Kenmare
Kenmare
Kenmare is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mara meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.-Location:...
, Ireland. In the 19th century, sisters of the Poor Clare convent introduced needlepoint lace to the women and girls of the locality. It was a response to the poverty that followed the Great Famine. The initiative was of immeasurable help to the people of the area in those difficult years.
Its subsequent success was due partly to the indigenous skills of the local girls, who were employed to make it and partly to the foresight and guidance of the nuns and also to the early recognition and support it got from influential people of the time.
A major factor in the success of Kenmare Lace was the introduction of its own designs. Through the co-operation of the Kensington school of Design in London and the Crawford School of Art in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
a school of design was established in Kenmare. From this school came designs that won acclaim in exhibitions around the world. Kenmare Lace graced royal functions and liturgical occasions. It gained wide recognition and acclaim for its original designs and beautiful workmanship.
Eventually, economic factors brought about its decline and apparent demise until it was revived in 1989 by a local Co-Op in Kenmare. This came about when a local development association was formed and one of its members Nora Finnegan approached the nuns to ask them to again teach the lace to the locals. The nuns declined but offered instead to teach Nora who could instead teach the classes and so this tradition and its award-winning designs have not been lost and today they form the basis of the revival of the local skills. Kenmare Lace designs and pieces can still be seen in the Kenmare Heritage Centre and in the Kenmare Lace and Design Centre Upstairs.