Craft Masters – Legacy

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Craft MastersAileen Duffy2024-03-26T11:32:36+00:00

Celebrating the extraordinary talents of our traditional skills masters, enjoy our series of short documentaries that showcase the best traditional craftspeople

Offaly Local Development Company’s “Legacy” Traditional Skills Training Programme aims to recognise and record Masters of their Craft in the Offaly area.

‘Legacy – Craft Masters’ initiative to celebrate the traditional skills masters of the County. The programme highlights the significance of these skills in our cultural heritage and aims to ensure their continuity for future generations.

The “Legacy” traditional skills programme acknowledges the importance of traditional crafts and the need to keep them alive in our rapidly evolving society. It seeks to revolutionise the perception and appreciation of these crafts in Offaly and beyond.

The primary objectives of the “Legacy” training programme are:

Preserve Traditional Skills: Identify and safeguard traditional skills and crafts that are at risk of being lost in time.
Facilitate Learning and Appreciation: Provide individuals with opportunities to learn and appreciate traditional skills, fostering a sense of pride and respect for our heritage.
Revitalise Traditional Skills: Bring traditional skills into the modern era, promoting their relevance and ensuring their sustainability for future generations.

Enjoy our short video documentaries.

Mauricio Martino -Slate Designer

Mauricio Martino of Heartworks Handmade Gifts works almost entirely in salvaged slate to create unique clocks, mirrors, picture frames and a variety of other handmade slate design products and handmade gifts. Each hand crafted slate piece is designed and handmade in his Tullamore studio in the centre of Ireland. Heartwork’s slate designs and handmade gifts feature etched patterns and decorative flourishes of metallic paints in earthy rusts, gold, bronze, and vibrant colours. Heartworks also work to commission, creating unique handmade pieces that offer more scope and creative freedom. It is often these one-off pieces that will inspire a new range of handmade gift products, a new use of colour or introduce a new style or shape. Learn more about Mauricio: www.heartworks.ie

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BasketWeaver – Padraig Larkin

Meet Padraig Larkin, a skilled basket and straw weaver located in Cloghan, Co Offaly. With a rich history of basket weaving in Offaly, Padraig upholds the traditional art of basket weaving and straw weaving techniques. Committed to preserving Ireland’s weaving heritage, Padraig delivers workshops and demonstrations to share his expertise and keep these traditional crafts alive for future generations.

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Barbel Klee – Weaver

Barbel Klee, has been living in Ireland since the late 1980s. Having spent 20 years in Co Offaly, bringing with her the wonderful craft of weaving. Working to commission, Barbel enjoys the freedom to work at her own pace, creating shawls, scarves, blankets, tea towels, and rugs, using high-grade materials such as cotton/linen mixes, pure wool, bamboo, and silk.

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Micheal Horan – Jewellery Designer

Introducing Michael Horan, an artisan jewellery designer, and maker rooted in Co.Offaly. Michael specialises in handcrafting bespoke engagement rings and wedding bands, designing and making each exquisite piece in his workshop. Every creation is a unique reflection of his client’s vision, meticulously designed and crafted to the highest standards of quality.

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Dolores Dempsey – Mountmellick Embroidery

Dolores Dempsey is a Master Craftsperson with 40 years’ experience teaching, designing and creating unique pieces of Mountmellick Embroidery. Mountmellick Embroidery is a white on white work that is entirely Irish in origin and design dating from the early 19th century. It consists of bold designs of local flora and fauna worked on white satin jean fabric using white cotton thread and is part of Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Dolores is passionate about keeping this craft alive for future generations to enjoy and delivers regular classes/workshops in Mountmellick Development Association Ltd., Museum of Mountmellick Embroidery. Dolores Dempsey also creates commissioned pieces to order.

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Blacksmithing Event – Craft Masters Videos

A celebration of blacksmithing organised with James O’ Connor – Blacksmith, Forged in Ireland, ‘forge in’ and iron ore smelting demonstrations with Paul Rondelez during That Beats Banagher festival in July 2023 which over 30 blacksmiths and traditional craft makers demonstrated their skills to the public. This was organised as part of the Annual That Beats Banagher Festival. This event was held on the 15th & 16th of July 2023 and there was an overwhelming interest from locals and beyond.

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