Made by Lee Valley in County Cork, we have been selling these stylish fitted Tweed waistcoats in store this year.

Teamed with a grandfather shirt or with a collared shirt and tweed bow tie as pictured here , the tweed waistcoat is a very smart accessory to any wardrobe.

Made using 100% Tweed outer and 100% cotton lining, they are warm and we find they are popular across the board , whether for a formal occasion or casual wear they look great with jeans.

Available now online in 2 tweed shades at €129.99.

After some research recently we discovered the history behind The Country Shop opened in Dublin in 1930 not too far away from us in Stephen’s Green Dublin 2.

A very remarkable woman called Dr. Muriel Gahan who was born in County Donegal in 1897. At the age of 29 Dr. Gahan moved to Dublin where she joined the Society of United Irishwomen in 1929 founding the Country Workers Ltd.

Dublin had been through some turbulent times in the 1920’s with the War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War, it was a wonderful time for women coming together to establish societies such as the United Irishwomen.

Her major contribution to the world of craft came in 1930 when she opened the Country Shop in a basement of a house on Stephen’s Green, with a coffee shop and restaurant on the upper floors it became a place to be in Dublin to meet and shop especially for women of the time.

This was the first time Aran sweaters went on sale in Dublin from 1930 onwards.

Dr. Gahan would visit the Aran islands and other rural areas meet the knitters personally and began buying from them directly and selling in the Country Shop.

Dr. Gahan’s inspiration for such a shop was the realisation of the lack of respect for craft workers and their need for a retail outlet for their products. Giving women in the cottage industry of knitting an outlet to sell their goods.

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