From the towns of Donegal to the catwalks of the fashion world, we look at the history of Donegal tweed, the most famous tweed in the world.
Donegal tweed has been manufactured in the county that gives it its name for centuries. However, it didn’t become integral to the local economy until the late 1700s.
Since then, it has helped Donegal escape an economic slump, graced the catwalks of the world’s fashion capitals, and become the globe’s most recognised tweed.
From its origins in some of the smallest towns in the county to the world of haute couture, we look at the history of Donegal tweed.
Meanwhile in Ireland’s fun facts about Donegal tweed:
- Donegal tweed was originally hand-woven, but since the mid-20th-century, many manufacturers have used mechanised looms.
- Though it existed for centuries, the Donegal tweed industry began to boom in the late 18th-century after The Royal Linen Manufacturers of Ulster distributed around 6,000 spinning wheels to various homesteads in the county.
- British philanthropist Alice Rowland Hart helped further expand the Donegal tweed industry in the late 1800s with charitable alms that stimulated and reinvigorated the local economy.
- The work of Irish haute couture fashion designers such as Sybil Connolly.
Alice Rowland Hart – artist, businesswoman, philanthropist
British artist, businesswoman, and philanthropist Alice Rowland Hart was born into the wealthy Rowland family in London in 1848. Her family made its money in the production of Macassar oil, a hair-grooming product derived from Macassar ebony.
Hart studied at the Apothecaries Society in London before continuing her studies in medicine in Paris. She and her sister, Henrietta Rowland Barnett, taught at Toynbee Hall, a charitable institution to teach the poor in London’s impoverished East End.
Hart and her husband came to Donegal in 1883. Affected by local poverty and impressed by local craftsmanship, she aimed to regenerate the local economy by investing in, among other industries, weaving tweed.
By the end of the year, she founded the Donegal Industrial Fund and established a market for Donegal tweed in London. Such was the success of this venture that she opened a shop on Cavendish Street in Marylebone.
Hart continued to work with Donegal weavers even after her return to London, sending Scottish tweed examples to them for inspiration and encouraging them to experiment with different dyes from local plants.
Sybil Connolly – Dublin’s Dior
Of course, Donegal is among the most famous tweeds in the world, thanks in no small part to the work of Irish fashion designer, Sybil Connolly, who counted among her clients Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Rockefeller family.
Dubbed ‘Dublin’s Dior’, Connolly gained international renown in the world of fashion for incorporating traditional Irish textiles into her haute couture designs.
Examples include taking red flannel used for petticoats in Connemara and fashioning them into billowing skirts and rendering men’s linen handkerchiefs and striped linen tea towels into unique dresses.
Connolly and her contemporaries, Irene Gilbert and Neillà Mulcahy, brought Donegal tweed to the world’s runways during their incredible careers and are partly responsible for making it the most famous in the world.
Magee of Donegal – dressers of presidents
Perhaps the biggest name in Donegal tweed, Magee of Donegal began as a small retail shop in 1866, from which John Magee sold tweed made by part-time weavers from Ardara and Carrick.
Upon Magee’s death in 1901, his cousin Robert Temple – an apprentice in the shop – took over the running of Magee of Donegal. He adopted a more hands-on approach, sending patterns and materials to weavers to improve the quality of the product.
Temple also established a small factory that employed several full-time weavers and expanded the business.
Temple’s son Howard took the reins after his father’s death, expanding the business further and establishing the aforementioned links between Donegal tweed and haute couture designers.
Magee of Donegal remains in the Temple family today, supplying several suits worn by President Michael D. Higgins.
Other Donegal tweed companies – plenty to choose from
Though Magee of Donegal is the preeminent manufacturer of Donegal tweed, several other companies in the county also produce the famous fabric.
Fifth-generation hand-weaver Denis Mulhern wanted to maintain the tradition of hand-weaving while other companies veered towards machine production. The result was Ardara’s Triona Design.
From humble beginnings in Mulhern’s front room, Triona Design became the Fáilte Ireland-approved Triona Donegal Tweed Centre, which has showcased the skill of hand-weaving to visitors to the area since 1992.
Kevin and Wendy Donaghy started Studio Donegal in 1979, and their son, Tristan, now heads the operation. Much like Triona Design, Studio Donegal stays true to the traditional hand-weaving methods of producing Donegal tweed.
Notable mentions
Natural dyes: Many products are coloured with natural dyes from plants native to the county. Alice Rowland Hart encouraged local weavers to make use of indigenous plants to make Donegal tweed unique.
Donegal tweed products: It is most commonly used in the making of suits, vests, and caps. However, Irish fashion designers repurposed it in the 1950s and 60s to make dresses and skirts.
Your questions answered about Donegal tweed
If you still have questions, read on! In this section, we answer some of our readers’ most frequently asked questions, including those that appear most often in online searches about the topic.
What is special about Donegal tweed?
Donegal tweed is particularly soft and so feels very comfortable on the skin. Its thick, heavy, rope-formed threads, however, mean that for all its softness, it does not compromise on warmth for that cold Atlantic Ocean air in Donegal.
What is the difference between Harris Tweed and Donegal Tweed?
While Harris tweed is still handwoven by local islanders in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, Donegal tweed is machine-woven nowadays, following the introduction of mechanised looms in the mid-20th-century.
Is Donegal a type of wool?
Yes, Donegal wool has as many as seven individual colours in its yarn and additional flecks of colour along its surface.
