Tyrone Crystal on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Tyrone Crystal was a crystal manufacturing company in
Tyrone Crystal was a crystal manufacturing company in Dungannon
Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...
, County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
History
Glass-making and -decoration in County Tyrone can be dated back to the early medieval period, where Dunmisk outsideCarrickmore
Carrickmore () is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Omagh East, the civil parish of Termonmaguirk and the Roman Catholic Parish of Termonmaguirc between Cookstown, Dungannon and Omagh. ...
was a centre for manufacture and provides the first evidence of glass work in Europe Modern glass work dates to 1771, when Benjamin Edwards founded a company in County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...
, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Tyrone Crystal was set up two hundred years later in 1971, by Father Austin Eustace to create employment in the Dungannon area of County Tyrone. There was not a lot of employment in the area at the time, and nobody in the area knew anything about making crystal. An advertisement was placed in a national newspaper, seeking someone who could train people in the area. Two Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
ns, a master blower and a master cutter, were hiking across England and read the advertisement; they came over to train the employees. Trainees began practising on glass jars and bottles until they became skilled enough to make crystal on their own, and they set up a glass-blowing shop in Dungannon.
In 1988 the company was awarded an ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO 90 ...
for quality; the youngest glasshouse in Ireland or the U.K. to gain the recognised standard. A new factory, built in 1990, is also a tourist attraction. Tyrone Crystal acquired Tipperary Crystal
Tipperary Crystal is an Irish design company based in Dublin. Tipperary Crystal is an Irish crystal design and manufacturing company founded in 1987 by former Waterford Crystal -craftsmen In Ireland.
In 1996, there was a high court case about ...
in 2000 as part of an investment plan that spent £500,000 on a new visitors' centre that opened in 2001. The company was acquired by businessmen Peter Maginnis and Nigel Blackburn in 2006.
From 2005, Tyrone Crystal manufactured the trophy for the Canadian Grand Prix
The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports ...
.
Designer Marcus Notley
Marcus Notley (born 1 June 1973) is an Irish product designer specializing in designing consumer products for the home. He designed Ireland's largest crystal chandelier for the Merchant Hotel in Belfast.McCall, Barr"Design For Success"''Th ...
was commissioned by Tyrone to design the chandelier
A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
for the Great Room in the Merchant Hotel in Belfast. It is made out of embellished gold on metal and 2600 blown out crystal pieces. With 4.5m in height, 2.9m in diameter and a weight of 400 kg, it is the largest chandelier in Ireland. The chandelier was installed in 2006.
The Dungannon factory closed on 12 March 2010, with the loss of 31 jobs.
See also
*Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the i ...
Sources
External links
*Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
{{Glass makers and brands
Glassmaking companies of the United Kingdom
Drinkware
Dungannon
Glassmaking companies of Ireland