Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-06
s.332,s13 acres, and in 1895 it was 4.932. OO1
acres. That is the principal reason why
Ireland is not SO prosperous as she should
be under the circumstances.

acres. That is the principal reason why
Ireland is not SO prosperous as she should
be under the circumstances.
Prosperous Factories in Ulster.
The factories of Ireland are confined al
most entirely to the northern province
of Ulster, although few mills and other
textile manufactures are scattered IN
other parts of the island. The textile and
other manufacturing industries have en-
ioyed unprecedented and extraordinary
prosperity for eight or ten years. which
was terrupted-temporarily let us hope
when the panic in New York last fall ar
rested orders from this country. When
conditions are restored and the normal
consumption of Irish goods is resumed IN
the United States it is believed that the
prosperity of the recent decade Will be
revived
Household industries particularly the
manufacture of hand-woven tweeds and
various kinds of lace, received gratlfy-
ing impetus from the advertising obtained
by the Irish village at the Columbian
exposition at Chicago in 1893 under the
patronage of Lady Aberdeen, who for
twenty years had interested herself IN
the practical and successful development
of lace making and hand weaving of WOOL
en- fabrics. Her energetic efforts have
been supplemented by the Royal Irish In
dustries Association and the Royal Dub
lin Society, both of which hold annual ex-
hibitions, offer prizes for excellence or
design and workmanship, and provide
agencies for the sale of homemade and
convent made products in London and
other cities.
Governmental Aid Given.
The congested districts board has also
given much practical aid and encourage
ment by loaning money to people who
cannot afford to buy looms, by furnish
ing patterns and thread to lace makers
and by sending teachers in both indus
tries throughout the island into the house
holds, by establishing fixed schools at
central points and by furnishing thread
and other materials to lace makers and
weavers, for which 1t collects payments
after the product is sold. All Through
the poor districts of Ireland, where for
centuries there has been desperate
struggle for existence. thousands of looms
and spinning wheels may now be found in
the cottages of the poor peasants. where
both the parents and the children have
been instructed in spinning and weaving
by government teachers. And in almost
every village on the west coast there is a
lace school attended by from twelve to
fifty young women. under the instruction
of patient and tactful teacher. working
with thread advanced to them. without
payment by the congested districts board.
The lace produced is sold for them at the
agencies of the board, and they are thus
enabled to contribute several pounds a
month to the incomes of their families.
Until the congeSted districts board I'M
dertook this work lacemaking was prac-
tically confined to the converts. There
are two classes of true Irish lace--needle-
point. which is made by the needle, and
bobbin lace, the threads of which are
twisted around small bobbins Of bone,
made entirely by hand. which is not true
of the Limerick and Carrickmacross Iaces.
Needle point lace was first introduced
into Ireland by the sisters of the Pres
entation Convent. Youghal. County Cork,
as means of helping the famine stricken
years of 1S47-j0. 1t was initiated from
Italian models but has since been devel-
oped and enriched. both in design and
execution. so that il may now BIZ consid-
cred original Irish point lace. and its In
dividuality is as strong as brussels point.
Gave Her All to the Poor.
The Presentation Convent was founded
in 1893 by the Rev. Mother Mary Magda-
lene Gould a wealthy Irish woman. who
had lived many years in foreign countries.
She was distinguished for her benevolence
and love for the poor and consecrated
her life and her property to the education
of the children Of the poor. When the
famine occurred in 1S47 she admitted to
the convent every ciIlQ lIdl De &C
commodated, and gave asylum to many
widows also, who were left homeless and
destitute In order to furnish her pro-
teges some occupation and enable them
to earn little for their own support
she decided to teach them the art o: lace
making, which mas been carried on lot
centuries in the converts OF Italy. She
took some of her own lace, examined the
process by which it had been made uu-
raveled the threads one by one. and put
them back again over and over, until she
at last succeeded in mastering the intri-
cacies Of the construction Of needle
point. She next selected the brightest
and most deft-fingered children and wom-
en- in the convent and taught each sepa-
rately what she herself had learned
Most of the women and girls displayed an
aptitude for the work. and after the nee as
stiles of the occasion We're over and the
emergency passed she had about her
many we'll trained lacemakers. Some of
them developed considerable ingenuity
and taste In the invention of the new de-
signs and easier methods of handling the
needle. Other converts throughout Ireland