Kenmare lace

Kenmare Lace is a handmade needlepoint lace originally made in Kenmare, Ireland. In the 19th century, sisters of the Poor Clare convent introduced needlepoint lace to the women and girls of the locality. It was a response to the poverty that followed the Great Famine. The initiative was of immeasurable help to the people of the area in those difficult years.

Its subsequent success was due partly to the indigenous skills of the local girls, who were employed to make it and partly to the foresight and guidance of the nuns and also to the early recognition and support it got from influential people of the time.

A major factor in the success of Kenmare Lace was the introduction of its own designs. Through the co-operation of the Kensington school of Design in London and the Crawford School of Art in Cork a school of design was established in Kenmare. From this school came designs that won acclaim in exhibitions around the world. Kenmare Lace graced royal functions and liturgical occasions. It gained wide recognition and acclaim for its original designs and beautiful workmanship.

Kenmare

Kenmare (Irish: An Neidín, meaning "the little nest") is a small town (population 2175 – CSO 2011) in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mara meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.

Location

Kenmare is located at the head of Kenmare Bay (where it reaches the farthest inland), sometimes called the Kenmare River, where the Roughty River (An Ruachtach) flows into the sea, and at the junction of the Iveragh Peninsula and the Beara Peninsula. The traditional Irish name of the bay was Inbhear Scéine from the Celtic inver, which is recorded in the 11th Century narrative Lebor Gabála Érenn as the arrival point of the mythological Irish ancestor Partholón. It is also located near the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Mangerton Mountain and Caha Mountains and is a popular hillwalking destination. Nearby towns and villages are Tuosist, Ardgroom, Glengarriff, Kilgarvan, Killarney, Templenoe and Sneem.

Politics

It forms part of the Kerry South electoral constituency. Mark Daly, elected a member of Seanad Éireann in 2007, is from Kenmare.

Kenmare (disambiguation)

Kenmare is a town in County Kerry, Ireland.

Kenmare may also refer to:

Places

Transport

Other

See also