Design Matters: Traditional with a twist

From boat building to silverware to saddlery, Irish design has a rich tradition. These designers use skills that are hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old, but make work that’s right at home in today’s world.

Cara Murphy: Silversmith

Based in Hillsborough Co Down, award- winning Murphy uses ancient and traditional skills to create pieces that may be functional, but are also wild and wonderful.

Inspired by nature, her tableware seems to grow, sprouting enamelled “seeds”, silver twigs and swirls. For Murphy, the ritual and ceremony associated with silver is a vital part of the magic, and her pieces are often designed to change as you use them.

[ caramurphy.com ]

Tom and Jim Berney: Berney Brothers

The Berneys have been hand-making saddles and bridles in Co Kildare since 1880. It takes 24 hours to make their General Purpose saddle from start to finish, and the nature of the materials means you can’t use machines.

“Working with riders and competitors is the best way to stay on top of our game – if it works for a world champion, it’ll work for others.” says Tom.

[ berneybrossaddles.com ]

Pádraig Ó Duinnín: Meitheal Mara

Reviving traditional boat building skills, Ó Duinnín set up Meitheal Mara in Cork in 1994 as a community project. Now retired, Ó Duinnín stays involved, and the increased awareness of skills Meitheal Mara brought has translated to a revival of interest in currachs and rowing too.

See the fruits of their labours everywhere, from the set of Game of Thrones to In the Making, the ID2015 exhibition currently at the Coach House, Dublin Castle, until 17th March.

[ meithealmara.ie ]

Philip and Mary Cushen: Cushendale Woollen Mills

They’ve been doing things with wool in Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny since Cistercian monks set up there in 1204.

The Cushen family’s ancestors arrived sometime in the 1600s as immigrant weavers, and the Cushendale Woollen Mills is an established part of the local landscape, dyeing and weaving to create distinctive and gorgeous throws, blankets, hats and scarves.

[ cushendale.ie ]

Joe Hogan: Basket Maker

Galway-based Hogan learned his skills from local farming and fishing traditions, but since then he has expanded the idea of what baskets can be.

Exhibited and collected around the world, his brilliant creations include traditional turf and shopping baskets, but spiral off into sculptural wonders, plus a range of hats with designer Joanne Hynes.

[ joehoganbaskets.com ]