Milford chronicle., 1923-03-02
IRISH REvIVING
old INDUSTRIES
Priest Started Movement When
WOoIen Prices Went Soaring
During World War.
EXHIBIT AROUSES ENTHUSIASM
Clergyman Gets Looms and Weaver to
Teach His Parishioners - Many
Spinning Wheels and Looms
Are Now in Operation.

Dublin.-A strong movement for the
revival of the old Irish industries has
set in and is receiving assistance and
encouragement from the whole cOun
try. Among the peculiarly Irish pur
suits, spinning and weaving with the
old treadle machines has received
great impetus of late from patriotic in
dividuals.
In a little town called KillOe, in
County LOngford, over 300 spinning
wheels are working daily. Some time
ago the parish priest, Father COnefrey,
started the village with one wheel. He
was aided by friends from both the
north and south of Ireland, irrespec-
tive of the usual bugbear-pOlitics-
and now spinning wheels are beginning
to appear in the districts surrounding
| KillOe.
Started Industry During War.
Actually Father Conefrey started
this movement during the war; The
war sent the price of wooden goods
soaring unhealthily, so Father Cone
frey decided to encourage the women
and children of the town to spend their
rainy days and spare time in the dark
winter evenings making their own
clothing. Despite the deriSiOn of many
of the local wiseacres he obtained
couple of spinning wheels and set few
of the elderly women of the parish,
who during their youth had spun yarn,
to teaching the children to handle the
magic wheel.
The little industry soon caught
firm hold and gradually it became a
regular occupation during days when
the families could not work on their
own or other peoples farms. The wool
grown in the surrounding country
found a market in KillOe.
The seed thrown by the LongfOrd
village priest was blown far and wide.
Edward Bohane, the director of the
Royal Dublin society, the society which
carries on the famous Ballsbridge
horse show annually and which encOur-
ages stock raising in every shape and
form, became interested in the expert
ment and got the society to furnish
funds to enable the KillOe spinners to
exhibit their products at the sOciety's
show which is always a big event in
Dublin.
In 1921 the exhibit of the little viii
layers of KillOe at the show was quite
large, though limited to spinning and
knitting. Then the indefatigable Father
COnefrey went to Donegal, where he
discovered an disappearing weaver
working a wooden loom in the little
town Of Ardara. He took him to KillOe
and set him teaching his Industrious
cottagers how to weave Donegal home
spun. With the equipment of this new
loom and its manipulatOr Father Cone
frey's little group of spinners and
weavers sent a striking exhibition to
the Royal Dublin society's famous
horse show this year. All phases of
their work were shown, including grad
ing, blending, dyeing, gardening and
spinning wool, and finally weaving
blankets, tweeds and hOmespuns. AS
far as Ballinalee, in County Louth, the
first town to be reduced to ashes by the !
Black and Tans. tailOrs are calling for
the wares of the KillOe weavers and
are providing winter suitings made of
this native material.
Revive Linen Industry.
Then Father Conefrey turned his en-
ergies to reviving the old home linen
industry. At the show this year there
was an exhibit of the old jacquard |
damask linen loom, which still survives
in Llsburn. Crawford Hartnell, rich
Dubliner, told the principal of the Lis
burn Technical institute, Cecil Webb,
of Father COnefrey's urgent need of a
loom, which, as a token of good will
and encouragement in his efforts to re-
vive the cottage industries, they gave
him.
The KillOe spinners, acting on
third suggestion from their priest, sent
more young men to DrOgheda to learn
to handle the loom. 1t is now Operat-
ing, and also has served as a pattern
from which to make more looms The
LongfOrd county council has taken cog
nizance of KfllOes industry and en-
gagged dyeing, spinning and weaving ex-
perts to advise the cOttagers in putting
the best finish to their work
The whole country is taking an in
creasing interest in this revival Of old
time Industries. The Royal Dublin So
ciety, backed by number of philan-
UhrOpic Irishmen, has a shop in Graf
ton street, the main shopping street in
Dublin, for the exclusive sale Of Irish
goods of all sorts.
Other towns are rivaling KillOe in
homemade goods. Father
enterprise has been enthusi-
welcomed here because per-
sons of all shades of political opinion
on both sides of the troublesome Ulster
boundary have become it's foster fa-
theirs.
DILL