426 THE MODERN IRISH LACE INDUSTRY. 



manner along the lower portion of the flounce in part forming the edge ; 

 and at the top we have a narrower ribbon which, in places, appears to loop 

 •over the engrelure ; small garlands and bouquets of flowers are attached to 

 this ribbon. 



The conventional ornament which separates the fine hexagonal meshed 

 ground from the tied or barred portion is carefully drawn and well arranged ; 

 it contrasts successfully with the sprays and flowers which are tossed about 

 in lines of playful growth. The workmanship is excellent. 



Raised needle-point, better known as Inishmacsaint lace, is made at Miss 

 Maclean's Class, Benmore, Enniskillen. It is also made at Miss Keane's 

 Class, at Cappoquin, County Waterford, and at New Ross Carmelite Con- 

 vent, at Youghal, and at Kenmare. 



Pillow lace is made at the Convent of Mercy, Birr, and was made until 

 lately at Miss Elwood's Class, Cong, County Mayo, and to a small extent at 

 Golden Bridge Convent. 



Fig. 1 1 is a specimen of a pillow lace trimming made at Birr. I do not 



think it fairly illustrates the excellent work done at that lace centre. The 



design is not quite satisfactory. The forms seem to be rather large for th? 



depth of the border. There is not sufficient evidence of construction in the 



pattern ; it should always be remembered that one great advantage which 



hand-made has over machine-made lace is that the repeat need not be 



short, as it must of necessity be in the latter. In this border the repeat 3o 



much too short, and so the lace becomes monotonous. The ties are not 



well arranged, and the forms are not remarkable for beauty of drawing. 



Limerick lace, which is an embroidery or net, is of two varieties, " run " 



and " tambour." It is made at Mrs. Vere O'Brien's 



_ . • V T Class, and elsewhere in Limerick. This lace is also 



liimeric ace. j^^de at the Dominican Convent, Cabra, at Kinsale, 



and at Golden Bridge Convent. To Mrs. Vere 



^O'Brien the Limerick lace workers owe a great deal. Were it not for her 



sustained eff^orts to benefit the workers during some years past, the industry 



in that locality would have fallen into a state of complete decay. 



Mrs. Vere O'Brien was one of the first to perceive the value of change of 

 pattern, and the Cork School of Art was indebted to her for many encourag- 

 ing orders for designs. 



Fig. 12 is an example of old Limerick tambour lace. The pattern con- 

 sists of a rather violently twisted spray, and an edge of detached blossoms 

 which follow one another in a monotonous fashion. The design is not 

 unsuitable to Limerick tambour work, and no doubt was highly prized 

 before the days of machine-made lace. One cannot but feel, however, that 

 there is not sufficient variety ; any such which may exist is gcdned by the 

 alternation of a tall and short spray of the same description of foliage. The 

 remarks which I have before made on the variety which may be gained in 

 hand-made as opposed to machine-made work are, I think, equally well 

 exemplified in this illustration. 



Fig. 13. — Modern Limerick tambour lace. The pattern is well suited 

 to this description of lace. The trailing arrangement of the sprays, tied in 

 places with bows of ribbon, and the strings of pearls combine to impart 

 grace and lightness to the design. Large forms cannot, as a rule, be well 

 rendered in this lace, and small forms, in order to be effective, require to be 

 separated from one another. 



pig. 14 is an example of modern Limerick run lace. The design is based 



