The Aran Sweater: An Enduring Symbol of Irish Heritage
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Today the Aran sweater is as much identified with Ireland as the harp and shamrock. This simple article of clothing had its origin on the Aran Islands of Inishmore, Inishmann and Inisheer and is recognized the world over as Irish.
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| THE ARAN WOOLLEN MILLS was opened on the island of Inishmore in the Aran Islands in the 1970s. |
Part of the sweater's success is due to its mystique. Indeed the very story of our lives is woven into the sweater – every stitch has a meaning. For instance, there is the “ladder of life” stitch, which symbolizes the pilgrimage to happiness. The “tree of life” stitch, grants good luck to its wearer. Even the stitch of “marriage lines” with zigzags, represents the ups and downs of married life.
In this day of mass-produced and disposable clothing, it would be hard to find an article of clothing with such history and heritage as the Aran sweater. It stands as a monument to remind us of a time when life was simpler and often more difficult. In fact, there is an image in the Book of Kells in which Daniel is wearing Aran knits.
Knitting has been an Irish cottage industry since the Seventeenth Century. In times gone by, it was a man’s work to knit the sweaters, and the women spun the yarn. It has been said that every family on the islands had their own particular stitch knitted into their sweaters. This enabled the families of those fishermen who befell misfortune out on the turbulent seas to more easily identify their loved one should they be washed ashore.
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| A MODEL wearing a sample of the Aran knitwear produced by Carraig Donn located in Westport, County Mayo. |
North Americans became enamored with the Aran sweater in the early 1960s, when The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem bounded onto the stage of the Ed Sullivan Show, all wearing Aran sweaters, which became their trademark clothing.
In the month of March, and especially around St. Patrick’s Day, there is always an abundance of Aran sweaters worn in parades, and the many celebrations, all worn to proudly display the wearer’s Irish heritage.
I recently spoke to Vincent Hughes, one of the owners of Carraig Donn, a knitwear business with its head office located in Westport, County Mayo. Their factory produces 4,000 hand-loomed Aran sweaters a week. They also carry hand-knit Aran sweaters.
He said, “Ireland is our biggest market, followed by the United States and Canada, and then Japan and Europe. To the Irish shops in North America alone, our company probably ships anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000 Aran knits a year. Although we are noted for our Aran sweaters, we also have many other types of sweaters, clothing, jewellery and pottery.
“We have light-weight lambs’ wool and Shetland products. We do lined garments and outerwear sweaters with lining on the inside which protects from the wind. We do socks, mitts, scarves, caps, and a wide range of boiled wool products, along with waxed cotton coats.”
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| VINCENT HUGHES |
Carraig Donn started out as a cottage industry, employing out workers and giving them the raw material to make the finished product which was then sent to the shops in Ireland and abroad.They opened a shop in the 1970s on Inishmore in the Aran Islands, and the women of the island used to knit the garments for the shop.
Speaking about the dwindling amount of home knitters now, Vincent said, “obviously there are not as many people hand-knitting today as there were 30 years ago, when there was 20 percent unemployment in the country. Now, there is less than four percent so hand-looms have taken over considerably. But there are still hand-knits available.”
Carraig Donn was established by Vincent's father Padraig and his mother Maura Hughes, who produced a small Irish family of eight boys and five girls. He said, “we were all involved in the business at some stage or another while we were students at school or growing up. Today, my brother Pat and I own the business.”
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For more information about Carraig Donn, check out their website at: www.carraigdonn.com. Stores that carry Carraig Donn Aran sweaters and Aran products in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest are: Irish Fancy Store in Steveston, British Columbia, call (604) 272-1101; Shops of Ireland in Edmonton, Alberta (located at the West Edmonton Mall), call (780) 444-1654; and Galway Traders Shop in Seattle, Washington, call (206) 784-9343.
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