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The Museum

Samples of Mountmellick Embroidery

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The Museum

Mountmellick Museum officially opened its doors in October 2003. The main focus of the Museum is to conserve and display original pieces of Mountmellick Work (Embroidery) and to protect the memory of Mountmellick’s rich Quaker industrial past. The Museum is situated on the banks of the river Owenass giving visitors a chance to glimpse at the inspiration behind the designs used.

Mountmellick Embroidery is unique as it is the only form of embroidery from the Nineteenth Century which can claim to be entirely Irish in origin and design. Its importance in social history is immense as can be evidenced in the Museum. The work was carried out on white satin jean using white cotton thread and was used to decorate household products such as nightdress cases, dressing-table mats, sachets, comb and brush bags, quilts, pillow shams and pin cushions. Designs were originally inspired by plants growing locally including: blackberries, dog rose, ivy, wild clematis, viola and fuchsia. Cultivated plants such as passion flower, cyclamen, tiger lily, snowdrops and daffodils also appear frequently in the designs. One of the features of Mountmellick is, in fact its serviceability. It is meant to be used, and repeated washing has given older examples of the work a particular softness and ‘patina’.

The introduction of Mountmellick Work is credited to a Johanna Carter in 1825 when there was a worldwide revival in the art of lace making. The materials used were being produced locally and the designs used symbolise the rich Quaker heritage of the town. The craft has a long association with the Quakers who fostered the tradition by teaching it and adapting it to their own designs. Girls in the Quaker school were instructed in the embroidery as a way to earn money for their books. Commercially the first known sale of Mountmellick Work took place in 1847 to the Earl of Dunraven of Limerick. This was a quilt which has survived to this day and is currently on loan to the Museum.

Mountmellick work became a popular hobby for ladies of the Victorian era, shifting from a source of income to a middle-class social pastime. Between 1880 and 1898, Weldon Publishers of London produced four volumes entitled Weldon’s Practical Mountmellick Embroidery and a popular needlework publication in the U.S. also featured the craft.

Circa 1880, a Mrs. Milner started an Industrial Association in Mountmellick to provide a livelihood for ‘distressed gentlewomen’. By 1890, there were fifty women employed in producing embroidery. This led to a major interest in the work. It was taken up by women throughout the country and as a consequence it ceased to be just a local craft. During the early 1900’s combined with the effects of the first world war and machine embroidery the number of embroiders declined and it died out until a Presentation Nun, Sister Teresa Margaret McCarthy of Mountmellick who revitalised the craft in the early 1970’s. Her task was made possible by the generosity of the Pim family of Mountmellick, who made original patterns available. She sourced fabric and thread and began teaching the embroidery locally. It is thanks to her perseverance that Mountmellick embroidery is now known and appreciated worldwide again. Sr. Teresa Margaret is now retired and has donated her collection to the Museum.

Materials:

The Museum now has the following available for sale:
Books:

Mountmellick Work by Jane Houston-Almqvist

Traditional Irish Embroidery by Sandra Counahan

Beginners Guide to Mountmellick Embroidery by Pat Trott

Mountmellick Embroidery by Yvette Stanton & Prue Scott

We also stock the fabric, thread, needles and patterns. Prices are available on request.

Training:

Group and one to one workshops are provided by demand and are tailored to your needs. All materials are included.

Classes are also held one night a week from September through till April.

For further information contact Museum:

Tel: 057 86 24525
Fax: 057 8644343
Email: Click here

Mountmellick Museum has received funding from Laois LEADER Development Co. Ltd. and from a Millennium Recognition Award through Area Development Management.


Samples of Mountmellick Embroidery

Nightdress Case



Brush & Comb Bag






Sampler showing 20 leaves