Kerry Woollen Mills are historic wool mills based just off the

Ring of Kerry The Ring of Kerry ( ga, Mórchuaird Chiarraí) is a circular tourist route in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. Clockwise from Killarney it follows the N71 to Kenmare, then the N70 around the Iveragh Peninsula to Killorglin – passing ...

History

Kerry Woollen Mills are one of the last remaining traditional wool mills still manufacturing in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. The company was founded over 300 years ago. The mill's machinery was originally driven by the River Gweestin, and its water was also used for washing and dying the wool. The mill was run by the Sealy family for many generations since its inception in 1760, and brought into the capable hands of the Eadie family in 1904, who had gained experience in the wool manufacturing business for many years in

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and are now successfully managing the mill in the fourth generation. Wool is spun, dyed and woven on the premises at the back of a well-stocked showroom, where yarns and the finished products are displayed. The mill is set in a rural location with many of historic buildings still being used. The machinery is a successful blend of the traditional and modern, having been carefully updated over the years. Now, the company focuses on supplying its products in traditional colours and designs to niche markets around the world. Visitors have the opportunity to see the

carding Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

and finishing of natural fibre textiles and fashion products such as

scarves A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of differ ...

shawl A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folded ...

tweeds Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

, speciality

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection. Etymology The term ...

s and

rugs Rug or RUG may refer to: * Rug, or carpet, a textile floor covering * Rug, slang for a toupée * Ghent University (''Rijksunversiteit Gent'', or RUG) * Really Useful Group, or RUG, a company set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber * Rugby railway station, N ...

.Fashion, knittware & weaving.
/ref> The Mill supplies its products to a large and loyal customer base in four principal segments: Manufacturers of clothing and headwear from the British Isles buy tweed, hotels and guesthouses order bespoke blankets, retail shops in Ireland and overseas buy the products to sell them to end customers and finally there is a need for speciality products e.g. in the equestrian industry. The mills sell also through their own outlet shops directly to the public, mainly to American tourists.

External links

www.kerrywoollenmills.ie
(official website)
Nationwide visits the historical Kerry Woollen Mills
(YouTube video)
A Visit to Kerry Woollen Mills with Micheál O Muircheartaigh
(YouTube video)

References

{{Coord, 52.101864, -9.683246, display=title Woollen mills County Kerry Textile companies of Ireland