We’ve been dealing with Julie Dillon since we opened our Dublin store back in 1995. A Dubliner herself, Julie hand looms the most incredible children’s sweaters and cardigans using Donegal Kilcarra Yarn.

We stock her “Sheep” range , made up of a solid base with two border colours and sheep and grass along the bottom. The sweaters have 3 button side opener on the shoulder for easier access for your little ones.

Shown above in pink and blue base colours and below in the neutral oatmeal a great colour for either girls or boys.

Available in sizes 1-3 years, we are delighted to launch the full range on our new site live now http://www.thedonegalshop.com

 

 

It’s been a busy few weeks here, we’ve set up a new Donegal Shop HQ with our new office and storage space . we’ve been busy putting the finishing touches to our new website, which we are really excited about!

We look forward to launching it in the coming weeks. There is a great new fresh look to the site and we are adding our own personal style to it at the moment.

We taken some products off but we’ve added to great new ones that sell very well for us in our Dublin store and know that you our customers will love them.

We will be really excited to hear what our existing customers think of our new site and what reaction new visitors have to the site, please let us know on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram page or email us orders@donegalshop.ie looking forward to hearing from you!

What spring summer I hear you say! With the weather conditions out there is seems like Ireland is still in the throes of winter, there were hail stones in Donegal & Dublin this morning.

The Aran Sweater really is a versatile garment that can be used in Ireland all year round . In Spring summer there is still a chill in the evenings, the Aran is perfect for sitting out in the garden in the evenings.

We are also coming into festival season here, while we didn’t see an Arans in Coachella, we can expect to see an annual flurry of festival goers in for their lightweight Aran in our Dublin store. The light Aran is a great weight for those living in warmer climates who may never get very cold winters, and works really well in Ireland for the summer season when you never know if you’ll get sun sea or rain.

Róisin is modelling the charcoal light Aran above. We came across this Australian Fashion Blogger called Michellestylefile.com and we love what she’s done with the Aran tramed with heels and boyfriend turn ups.

So whatever part of the world you are in, send us a photo of you in your Aran to info@donegalshop.ie the best picture gets a €50 voucher to spend online for the month of May or instagram us #aransinsummer16

We have always prided ourselves on selling genuinely Irish made products. Since we have opened in 1995 we have been renowned for selling Genuine Irish Hand Knit Arans such as the one pictured above, a label speaks volumes in this industry , if you have to ask if it’s made in Ireland it probably isn’t.

Kennedy’s Of Ardara, a favourite supplier of ours, a family business that spans over 3 generations of knitters and weavers in County Donegal, their attention to detail is impeccable with each garment knitted is signed personally by the knitter . Using the finest of Donegal Wool and local knitters their products are of a first class standard and it’s a pleasure of ours to sell their products.

You can tell a genuine Irish Hand knit sweater immediately by it’s quality and weight , over a kilo of wool can go into one garment. Each piece can take up to three weeks to make, with the wool costing over €60 and the knitters time it’s no wonder they can retail for over €250 , we insure fair trade in that all knitters receive a proper wage.

In the above picture, is another hand knit Aran we sell in the shop. Made by Magee of Donegal, another family business dating back to 1866. Made using Donegal Wool and again knit by local hand knitters, a MAgee hand knit is something special you will have for years to come . The collection of stitches in a hand knit is always a lot different to a machine made garment, the blueberry stitch above really stands out in a hand knit.

If you are thinking of investing in a hand knit email us with your measurements to orders@donegalshop.ie so we can be sure to match your size as close as is possible to our stock.

Not that we need any convincing, but this is an article in Vogue last winter on the beauty and longevity of the hand knit sweater which graces the catwalk at at least one point every year in the fashion stakes because it is an absolute classsic.

Kerry Woollen Mills is one of the last surviving traditional woolen 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 woolen manufacturing business for many years in Fermangh and Scotland and continues under the fourth generation of family ownership to this day.

We have always found the Eadie family a pleasure to deal with, weaving is int heir blood and they show a love and passion for what they do in the high quality of their products.

This week we wanted to showcase the Ruana cape now available online http://www.thedonegalshop.com it’s a beautiful and versatile garment woven with soft lambswool and a little acrylic it’s a very elegant celtic timeless piece.

Measuring 54 x 72 inches it’s a long cape that can be worn draping over the shoulder, a celtic brooch like our Tara Brooch is an excellent accessory to wear along side it.

 

 

 

“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.