“The day of the festival of Patrick”. It’s a national holiday in Ireland. Traditionally a religious celebration it now emcompasses tradition and culture and is celebrated around the world. The 17th March marks the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick who is commonly recognized as the Patron Saint of Ireland c. AD 385-461.

It’s an official feast day in the Christian calendar , where mass is celebrated in honour of St. Patrick, those observing Lent are generally given a reprive from whatever they have given up for the 6 weeks of Lent, as children this meant enormous amounts of chocolate was consumed!

In Ireland there are St. Patrick’s Day parades all over the country and here in Dublin the city comes to a stand still for a few hours where 1000’s line the streets to watch a parade filled with floats, colour and dancers, it’s really a site to behold.

St. Patricks Day has become a major celebration around the world and particularly in the U.S.A where Irish Americans joined in parades and celebrations of their shared heritage.

We get a great kick here in Ireland when we see the world has joined in with the celebrations and light up some of their most famous landmarks in green for the day.

Of course we think the best thing you can wear on St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish made Aran from The Donegal Shop!

Our online shop is open 24/7 and our Dublin Store will be open from 12-6.

Wishing everyone a very Happy St. PAtricks day enjoy the festivities.

We are delighted to present the new Hand Knit range of Aran Knitwear made by Carraig Donn who are based in Westport County Mayo not too far from the Aran Islands.

Carraig Donn, Ireland’s leading knitwear brand, is celebrating 50 years of crafting beautifully designed garments in Ireland.
The company was set up in 1965 by Padraig and Maura Hughes with three intentions: to keep the local crafts alive, to provide employment for the local community and to provide their children with something useful to do during the long summer holidays. It remains a family business and has grow and evolved over the years to become an icon of Irish knitwear treasured by its loyal clients all over the world.

Our first featured garment is the Aran Hooded Sweater pictured above. A cosy over the head sweater with 3 side buttonsfor easier and comfortable access for little wrigglers.

Hand knitted with 100% Merino Wool , it’s soft to the touch, warm and most importantly machine washable on a cool wool wash cycle , check your machine has the setting.

Mixing the blackberry stitch with the trelis stitch representing nature and the intertwining strands of life.

Available in 3 styles and 3 sizes from 12 months up to 3 years all in the natural.

Above is the Baby Collar Cardigan, an adorable hand knit Aran cardigan with a gentle honeycomb and blackberry stitch. Easy to put on and comfortable to wear. Prices start at €49.99 and we also have a wide range of machine made arans in stock and online.

There aren’t many books you will read in your lifetime that are hard to put down, you can finish them on one or two sittings and thirdly despite being written over a hundred years ago are still timeless.

Colm Tóibín remarked on  J.M Synge’s The Aran Islands that “unlike most travel books of 100 years ago, it has not dated at all”.

It is a fascinating insight into life on the Aran Islands at the turn of the nineteenth century. Synge himself a young man just shy of 30 was at a crossroads in his life, a writing career that was not flourishing , various experiences around Germany and Paris had left him wishing to return home. An uncle of his had spent 3 years on InishMore as a Church of Ireland minister, thereby giving the young J.m Synge an opening and introduction into life on the Aran Islands.

Over 4 years J.M spent  winter and summer seasons on the Aran Islands, favouring Inishere the smallest of the 3 islands, where he felt welcome and at home.

His reflections of the locals, their rituals, their traditions and folklore has a major impact on his outlook on life. He never once looks down on their at times primitive ways and notions, if anything he seems fascinated and impressed by them.

Most notably the weekly curragh (small man made vessells) crossings between the islands or to the mainland where men and women took their life in their hands at every moment was something to be revered and respected.

It is from this you can gather the understanding of why fishermen never learnt to swim, they saw the sea as Gods and if their time was up, their time was up.

Which evolved to the knitting of the Aran Sweaters to identify these men who were drowned at sea , often washing up on another island, which at the time was like another country such was the regional differences between the Aran Islands.

Synge followed local practices such as harvesting Kelp which would be sold on the mainland as well as the transportation of cattle to the mainland for the winter months which was of such a dramatic nature it would attract large crowds of spectators.

The islanders clothes were often all the same colour , a kind of sack cloth tweed brownish colour. The Aran Sweater beginning to be the choice of clothing for Fisherman at this time to keep fishermen warm and dry from the elements that would literally batter the islanders.

Synge recorded in the Aran Islands that , “In Aranmor [the largest of the Aran Islands] many of the younger men have adopted the usual fisherman’s jersey, but I have only seen one on this island.”

Showing again how things differed among the islands, thus recording the Aran Sweater at the end of the 1890’s.

It’s a timeless and wonderful read we would highly recommend.

If you are looking for something warm and comfortable for the little people in your life look no further than an Aran Sweater for kids.

Our manufacturers have created some very contemporary styles for children that are durable, warm and fashionable, pictured above is the Aran Hooded zipper available in our store from ages 12/18 months up to 4/5 years. This style also comes in blue is a very popular product for us.

As with the adults, the classic Aran style has always proved the most popular style for kids, staying with the classical design, made using 100% Merino Wool this style is soft to the touch , great for kids to wear and the neutral colour goes with most things.

Very popular for girls is the Aran Cardigan pictured above available in sizes 12/18 months right up to 8/11 years , a very versatile garment this can be warm as a coat in spring/summer and makes a great layering option for kids in winter, also in 100% Merino wool .

We have had some wonderful photos sent to our Dublin store over the years of entire families dressed in Aran Sweaters often covering 3 generations! If you have any just send them to us @ info@donegalshop.ie

We’ve all heard the Aran Sweater was named after the small cluster of islands off the coast of west Ireland , but did you know that the Aran was also knit all over the country?

It’s beginnings stemmed from the need of the island men fishing to have something warm and waterproof to protect them from the elements. As many fishermen could not swim , believing if it was there time God would take them and what use would being able to swim be they had a means of identification through their aran sweater of either their family name or their parish of origin.

As hand-knitting moved to the mainland in the 1950’s and 60’s the Irish Government sent clothing manufacturers to the Aran Islands to teach the hand knitters how to knit to international sizing standards, we can’t imagine that went down too well!

The Aran sweater reached epic heights of fashion that it retains today with the likes of Vogue featuring it on its’ covers with huge stars such as Steve McQueen & Grace Kelly sporting an Aran.

Just before Christmas British Vogue did a wonderful piece on the Aran as the perfect Christmas jumper and we couldn’t agree more! It is truly a classsic forever.

It was reported that over €20 Billion Euro would be spent by international and domestic buyers at the 4 day annual Irish Trade Show Showcase now in it’s 4oth year.

It’s always an event people look forward to after the January Blues have set in after Christmas!

It is always a great chance for us to catch up with suppliers and the chance to look for some new ones. We were delighted to have found some new Irish made products this week we will be showcasing in the spring, some from Dingle, Donegal and Dublin. We found a very talented Potter who is going to make some beautiful pieces of pottery for our store.

Overall it’s wonderful to see so many new and young start – ups in Ireland, people doing what they love, making products here and exporting all over the world.

We love to source new products, especially those made in Donegal . Last year we had the pleasure of meeting the very talented Louise Tudor-Edmonds who designs and hand makes vintage head pieces, scarves, hats and bow ties using Donegal tweeds and beautiful laces.

Under the name of Vintage Lily Makes, Louise makes amazing one off individual Donegal tweed bow-ties, with an easy to clip double edged clip that attaches easily to any shirt.

We found it had something we’d been asked for a lot lately, tweed bow ties have been particularly popular for wedding attire, matched with a waistcoat it makes a wonderfully traditional yet contemporary look.

We have just added the bow ties to our online shop, they are lightweight and easy to ship, they are a one size so it’s just a matter of choosing your tweed of choice.

AS they are one of pieces, tweed colours may vary slightly if a tie is made to order, and they may take up to one week to be made plus postage but you can see they are certainly worth it.

We are often asked by customers to care for their Aran Sweaters in the shop and online.

As the sweater is made of natural fibre, it is breathable and doesn’t require to be washed as often as a cotton or polyester sweater would.  A good airing will do your sweater good and only wash it when you really need to.

When you do choose a generic hair shampoo and conditioner , wash by hand in a bath tub or basin in cool or tepid water , wash and conditioner with small quantities of each, treat your sweater like you would your hair! Dry it naturally on a towel over a table

It’s full of natural oils after all. Some machines offer a 30* degree cycle that is cool enough not to shrink a sweater but we would always advise you hand wash or dry clean if preferable, if you trust your cleaners and cover any buttons with aluminum foil to protect them. Never ever use the tumble dryer unless you want a Barbie sized sweater.

If you mind your wool garments you’ll have them for years to enjoy.

Wishing all our of customers a very Happy and Peaceful New Year ahead, thank you all for your support through 2015 and here’s to a fruitful 2016. We are expanding and we have got lots of exciting news coming in the next few months that we can’t wait to share with you all. Watch this space!

This week we wanted to showcase our Donegal Tweed Vests pictured above and modeled by Stephen. Always a great seller in store, the vests proved a huge in online sales over Christmas.

Made by Lee Valley Clothing who are based in County Cork using beautiful tweeds , these vests have a very smart fitted style. Combined with a handmade Donegal Tweed Bow tie made especially for the Donegal Shop Dublin by Vintage Lilly Makes , who are based in Donegal. The give a classic but contemporary look.

For a less formal look a grandfather shirt worn with a waistcoat is a great traditional contemporary look too.

The vests are cotton lined with a tightening belt at the back for a really fitted look as well as two front lower pockets and breast pocket, a Mullingar Pocket Watch would look good in one of these!

(Thanks @Guywoods for the image)

It’s the shortest day of the year, and in Dublin this morning it’s a bright and sunny morning, perfect for those lucky enough to experience the wonder that is Newgrange the oldest neolithic monument in the world older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids in Egypt.

Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. Above the entrance to the passage at Newgrange there is a opening called a roof-box. This baffling orifice held a great surprise for those who unearthed it. Its purpose is to allow sunlight to penetrate the chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21st, the winter solstice.

People gather at Newgrange in the morning darkness to end the longest night of the year as people did 5,000 years before them , it’s quite a remarkable experience, so popular now there is a free lottery system for tickets to the event.

It’s a great time for reflection in what is such a hectic time of the year, to stop for a moment and appreciate out lives and families and look forward to the next season and year ahead.