Greetings from Donegal, Ireland

Donegal is an interesting place – far more so than just being known as the northernmost county in Ireland, with three times as many sheep as people.

In case you are wondering about the exact numbers, we’ve checked these: it’s 526,658 (according to 2023 sheep census) vs. 167,084 (2022 nationwide population census). A fun fact, isn’t it?

To get here from Dublin, you have to drive north-west, cutting across the island – and the shortest route crosses into the UK, requiring a quick pass through Northern Ireland territory.

For those who remember The Troubles and the ethno-nationalist conflicts that lasted 30 years, this might sound like a serious challenge worth a detour... but that’s not the reality today. Sitting on the express bus – which, interestingly enough, stops in both countries – the only sign of crossing the border is a text message from your mobile carrier. The more observant might also notice different road signs and fuel prices in pounds, not euros - but on the surface level, that’s about it. The neighboring counties, despite the major international border between them (after all, it’s now the EU’s border!), are surprisingly well-integrated. It’s hard to trace the frontier by looking at the road map or observing the towns; license plates mix, people’s paths intersect, and locals travel both ways for work and shopping.

No surprise there – Donegal is the largest (in terms of area) and the most geographically isolated county from the rest of Ireland among the three historic Ulster counties that are now part of the Republic (the other six make up Northern Ireland). Given the rich history of this region as a whole, dating back to the early Middle Ages, the “mere” hundred years of the new political era haven’t been enough to draw a lasting divide.

 

The history of clothing production in the region is even longer than that – it was once the most important local industry, providing jobs and driving the economy. Not only were spinning mills and weaving workshops located here, but also fully-fledged factories that specialized in ready-made garments. In the first half of the 20th century, there were as many as eight shirt-making workshops around Donegal Town alone. Today, none of them remain – and just a few years ago, the last suit factory, the one that held out the longest, finally closed its doors.

Many overlapping factors influenced these changes – the shift away from classic menswear, rising labor costs all across Europe and the massive changes in Ireland’s economy, which over the past 40 years has gone through rapid growth, two economic revolutions and one serious crisis – all of which ultimately called into question the viability of maintaining local production or any labor-intensive industry at all. On top of that, when talking to locals, we heard a brief “young people today just don’t want to work there anymore” – a simple sentence that, according to many, explains a lot of complicated issues.

There’s more than a grain of truth to it – with the tax advantages that attract digital giants to Ireland, the capital (Dublin) is increasingly “draining” the provinces, tempting people with higher wages (which are still attractive despite the much higher cost of living) and encouraging young adults to move there. The clothing industry just can’t compete for workers; the fact that it’s been like that for years also caused a shortage of skilled labor.

Unfortunately, this also means that even those companies that are thriving, able to sell their products, exporting them – mainly spinning mills, weavers, and knitters working with local wool – face problems. There’s a market, but not enough workforce. Luckily, the best are still going strong (for now) and the global renaissance of Donegal Tweed, especially in Asian markets, helped them stay relevant. Moreover, observing the situation and keeping an eye on Dublin’s real estate market, some people decide to stay in their hometowns and look for work in this industry that’s interesting once again for some.

To learn more, we headed to the largest local weaving mill, Magee, to see the production process in person and ask about the outlook for the future – but we’ll talk about that visit in one of the next parts of our Donegal report.

 

For now, let’s spend a little more time on the landscape and nature – after all, the breathtaking views here inspired us to release a collection addition titled Greetings from Donegal. It’s hard to capture their whole beauty in photos, but we’ll try!

 

 

Without a doubt, we recommend this area to everyone. When we came here, our expectations were already high… but they were easily exceeded by the reality. Suffice it to say, we planned to drive straight from one pre-set photo location to the next, but we ended up stopping five more times along the way. We soaked in the scenery and made sure to take some photos for you – not just of the clothes, of course.

 

Cliffs, mountains, beaches, the Atlantic... just incredible.

We drove all the way up to Sliabh Liag (Slieve League), cliffs that stand 600 meters high, making them one of the tallest in Europe – and certainly some of the most spectacular. The famed Cliffs of Dover seem tiny in comparison. The raw, majestic landscape rivals that of the Norwegian fjords and the great northern faces of the Alps.

 

Even there, you could stumble upon sheep - crossing the view walk, grazing on grasses and heaths; walking freely between tourists. What a vibe.

 

Our base was Donegal Town – though it’s not the largest town or a regional administrative center today, it is a historically significant place that shares its name with the whole county. For nearly 200 years, between the 15th and early 17th centuries, it served as the informal capital of Tyrconnell, the Gaelic kingdom of western Ulster (similar in size to modern Donegal County) that was resisting English colonization, being still ruled de facto by one of the two last great clans, the O’Donnell.

A remnant of those times is the castle in the center of town, which, despite being 550 years old, is not a ruin but a fully-fledged historical monument.

 

Far less remains of the abbey built in 1474, located at the mouth of the Eske River (remember that name!) flowing through the town. Despite this, the ruins of its walls and the surrounding cemetery are still quite impressive, and the picturesque location right by the water, with views of the bay, invites contemplation.

 

The water here plays a significant role – it’s not just the river, important to the wool industry, but also the bay's waters, which provide local delicacies.

They say the best seafood comes from cold waters – and that to enjoy it, we should be flying to Ireland and Scotland more, not the Mediterranean… and well, to be honest, we’re inclined to believe that, because we’ve never had such delicious mussels, oysters, shrimp, or fish (salmon, haddock, monkfish!). The fact that the taste stuck with me enough to mention it on Poszetka’s blog says a lot.

Also, as a native of Poznań [the Scotland of Poland in terms of thriftiness], I can’t help but comment that I was also delighted by the price – despite the generally higher price levels in Ireland, these things, thanks to their local abundance, were outstanding value. Highly recommend!

 

And while we’re on the topic of food – we have to mention the pubs. Donegal Town has around 2,700 residents, and we found at least nine pubs in the town itself. Doing some quick math, that’s 1 pub for every 300 people... or 0.0033 pubs per capita. For comparison, if you scaled that to Warsaw, we’d have 5,478 (!) pubs within the Polish capital’s borders

 

 

With such a selection, it’d be silly not to step into at least one of them for a pint of Guinness; tradition calls for it.

 

We spent just under 3 days in the area – barely; there’d be enough to do for another week. It was an intense time, packed with meetings, trips, photos; beautiful views, good food, and, of course, a few pints.

We’ve fallen in love with Ireland and we’ll surely be back… both in person and with our collection choices, because we haven’t said our last word on the fabrics from around here.

Greetings from Donegal, Ireland!

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Next week, we will be releasing the article about Donegal Tweed, explaining what this fabric truly is, where it’s made and why it’s special – be sure to read it!

The following week, the last part of our Ireland report will cover our visit to the Magee weaving mill – we’ll talk more about the history and technical aspects of fabric production.

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