THE MARKETING OF IRISH LACE. 433 



THE MARKETING OF IRISH LACE, 



The workers in Irish lace have had till recently many difficulties in reach- 

 ing a market worthy of their work. Some of the finest fabrics are produced 

 by country girls, who ply their needle in very modest cottage homes, and 

 who often give to lace-making only the hours which they can spare from 

 their labour on their father's farm. The guipure and applique of Louth and 

 Monaghan, the beautiful crochet of Monaghan, Armagh, and Fermanagh, 

 are, in large part, manufactured under these conditions. And many of the 

 workers who have been introduced to the industry under the especially able 

 guidance of Mr. Walker, of the Congested Districts Board, are obliged to 

 submit to the same difficulties. It is often a matter of wonder to those who 

 have looked into the conditions of the industry, to find spotless pieces of 

 exquisite work delivered from homes which seem oddly out of keeping 

 with these dainty products. The point lace of Youghal, Kinsale, and other 

 centres is produced in much more favourable circumstances. The industry 

 is here promoted by communities of nuns, and the workers have the 

 advantage of a clean, well-lighted workroom ; though in these centres, also, 

 much of the work is done in the homes of the workers. 



Where the officers of the Congested Districts Board are the guides of the 

 workers, the marketing of the lace is duly provided for. The workers are 

 not only instructed in the methods of industry and supplied with suitable 

 designs, their work is also sent to the best markets, and they receive the 

 full market value of their products. The same may be said of the work 

 done in the larger convents which have established the industry on a suc- 

 cessful basis. But in remote country districts the supply of designs was, 

 till recently, both antiquated and madequate, and the lace was sold to some 

 shopkeeper in the nearest country town who had trade connections with the 

 shops or wholesale dealers of Dublin, Belfast, or London. The remunera- 

 tion of the workers was not determined by the competition of a wide 

 market, and they suffered accordingly. There were other disadvantages 

 incidental to dealing with a shopkeeper who was first a trader in grocer's 

 or other wares, disadvantages which may be hinted at, but need not be 

 further explained. 



The Irish Lace Depot, established in Dublin by the late Mr. Ben Lindsey, 

 did much for the marketing of Irish lace, and helped largely to the improve- 

 ment and development of the industry. In Mr. Lindsey's time, the institu- 

 tions and the individual workers connected with him had a ready and remu- 

 nerative market for their work. I am acquainted with one institution which 

 sent all its supplies of point lace to his Depot, and w^hich was able to pay 

 i^i,500 a year in wages to its workers. But after Mr. Lindsey's death this 

 outlet for Irish lace became sadly ineffective. A few years after his death, 

 the institution to which I have referred had much difficulty in paying ;£"6oo 

 or £700 a year to the same body of lace-makers. 



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