The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-26
AFOOT IN OLD IRELAND.
THE LACE AND NEEDLE WORKERS.
Another Letter From Edgar L. Waterman
no Idle Women-Description of
the Various Embroid cries
The Nuns OF YoughaI.

TIE GLESTEs. Ireland, June 10, 1885,
In my tramping through every county of
Ireland have had opportunities equaled
by few for observing the industrious char
acter of women. presume there are
nearly 100000 women lett in Ireland.
Whatever proportion of these / may have
seen, certain it is have never come upon
lazy one nor an idle one The insignif-
canoe OF the pittances they receive in any
labor to which they may be able to turn
their hands makes no difference with the
energy in that labor. Your knitter OF
the Connamara Alps may work
whole month for thirty pence; the
fsctory-girl Of Belfast, a week in the muir
der-pen OF a inen-spinning mill Tor from
four to six shillings; your Limerick tam
bOur lace maker, a month for ten shil-
hngs; your Innishmacsaint, or Youghal,
point-lace maker, six months for pound;
or your white slave oil the flax or potato
fields, for three months for her board and
a character; still they all work, and
that with right good will. The labor has
nothing nearer iusubordination in it than
"a bit of taste for Safeguarding" or
song that will vie with that of the mavis
or lark. Nor are these like the dull sod
den women OF the peasantry of
continental Europe. ! have seen in Bava-
ma women yOked at the side of heifers,
dragging loads in carts through the
pleasant wales near Bavreuth. Somehow
one has contempt for such natures.
But the Irish woman or girl has
spirit and fire IN her, which, while
keeping her out of every form of real
degradation, hold her Loyalty TO all lines
Of humble striving, and give her light
someness, energy and brightness. and not
infrequently lovely grace and beauty, at
her ever-tremendous efforts to add to the
humble home store. Indeed, such cheer
mess and hope, such scoffing at difficulties
10 be overcome, and such downright hardi-
hood and gayety in the face of endless toll,
would be difficult 20 match among the
women of any other land.
So having visited and occupied, If occa-
sionally but for moment, the strangers
seat" BY the hob in over three thousand
Irish cabins, it has been easy to know
something about the reality OF Irish lace
making and many other pursuits of kim
dred nature, which help keep the horror
OF eviction from the lowly home. Lace
making IN Ireland is the remnant of
lost art, or, more properly speaking,
q partial renewal among the peas
antry OF once noble art among
the ladies of the ancient Irish no
bility. There are we'll authenticated in
stances or marvellous work OF this kind
which have come down through families
as heirloOms, in samplers OF pillows and
point lace. as beautiful and artistic ms
those examples which set King Louis XIV
OF France II raptures and assured the for
tunes OF the talented Colbert and Madame
Gilbert OF AlepeOn. But the political
history OF Ireland is enough, in q word, TO
explain the past destruction OF lace-mak-
ing Not until about seventy years
ago was any form OF art needle-WoIk
found to be reviving in Ireland. The
nearest approach to this was species of
embroidery known as Mountmelhck,
originating, cHriously enough among a
settlement OF Irish Quakers, at the pretty
village OF MOuntmeilick, At the confluence
of the Barrow and Owenass rivers, at the
edge OF the romantic Sieve Bloom mount
aims, in Queens county, about seventy
five miles southwest OF Dublin. This en-
broidery consists OF open raised flowers in
white on white satteen, IN stitches imita-
tives Of the things represented. This
work has gone on alter the quaint Quaker
fashion for over half a century, and
as there has always been an
organized association for promot-
ing the sale OF Mountmellick embroid-
cry, about fifty workers have always
found employment at about Y shillings
per week. In the re-introduction, or be-
ginning among an entirely different class,
OF lace making in Ireland, the order of de-
velopment has been as follows: The Car
rickmacrOss laces are the applique, copied
from the Brussels and begun in 1920, and
guipure, in improved copies of the origi-
nal Cretan, introduced in 1916. Limerick
lace comprises chiefly the tambour, drawn
and run, and was begun in 1929. Crochet
lace-making, plain, or lace and crochet
stitch combined, In imitation of the old
needle-made lace. was introduced in coun-
ties Cork. Monaghan and Armagh in 1910
46. At 4oughal, the old home of Sir
Walter Raleigh and the point of final
embarkation of the destroyer, Cromwell,
the famous Irish point" has been made
since 1919; whale the quite as famous In
nishmacsaint point lace the latest devel-
opment IN Irish lace-making, was begun
in 1865. Thus all the Irish laces may
properly be classified as crochet Limerick,
CarricmacrCss, Youghal and Innishmac-
saint; and they have all owed their re-
awakening or origin to the great famine
which remOrseiessly spurred effort into
any form OF labor that would ward off
starvation, and the aid in technical in
struction on the part of individuals and
associations OF wealth, both in England
and Ireland which universal Irish suffer
ing fortunately prompted.
The simplest of oil Irish laces are the
crochet laces. and the introduction Of the
crochet needle proved godsend in thou
sands of Irish homes. At the Ursaline
convent of Black Rock, county Cork. the
nuns began in 1910 giving their ''poor
scholars the most rigorous training in its
use. Such progress was made that in 1915
they received about $500 for the product
OF their pupils labor. From this hum
bic beginning crochet work spread over
the south and west OF Ireland, and thence,
through the efforts of a lady of
Kildare, who took up and developed the
industry by teaching poor girls who took
a solemn pledge to train free three others,
into every county in Ireland. Seven
hundred girls were employed in Kildare
alone. The best trained teachers were
for time sent into the remotest districts.
One came to the wife of the rector OF
Cloves, Mrs. Howe, who herself learning
the art taught hundreds of girls about
Cloves; the best designs were purchased
and copied; fine Italian and Spanish pat
terms have been introduced everywhere
and the recent application of beautiful
silk threads have given the work a popu-