Laces of Ireland
creating and promoting a lace trail through the historical lacemaking centres on the island of Ireland
Presented by Gabriela Avram and Rosie Finnegan-Bell
17 November 2024 at 3:30 pm New York time (UTC-5)
An invitation to register for this Zoom webinar will be sent to all current IOLI Members a week before the event.
The talk will focus on the ongoing Laces of Ireland project. The project was initiated in 2023 by two groups of lacemakers - Friends of Lace Limerick, based in Limerick, Ireland and the South Armagh Lace Collective based in county Armagh, Northern Ireland. Limerick lace and Carrickmacross lace have a series of similarities – they are both embroidery on net, they both originate in the 1820s and nowadays they are both celebrated as part of Ireland’s intangible cultural heritage.
The long term goal is to create and promote a lace trail through the majority of historical lacemaking centres on the island of Ireland.
International experience shows that people interested in lace have a much broader interest in lace history and lace techniques than the particular type of lace they are making. The availability of such a lace trail would increase tourism potential and would encourage the organisation of lace tours throughout the island of Ireland.
For the duration of the project (2023-2025), we are focusing on creating online resources, organising exhibitions, presentations, lacemaking demonstrations and classes.
The Laces of Ireland digital platform is being further developed to include a trail map. The all-Ireland lace trail will include the permanent collections and lacemaking community groups and artists open to welcome visitors. A joint calendar of events will allow coordinating events and visits.
Laces of Ireland
Website: https://lacesofireland.ie
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lacesofireland
Friends of Lace Limerick:
Website: http://limericklace.ie
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LimerickLace/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LimerickLace
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limerick_lace/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LimerickLace22
South Armagh Lace Collective:
Website : https://southarmaghlacecollective.com
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesoutharmaghlacecollective
Gabriela Avram
Gabriela Avram’s collaboration with the Limerick Museum goes back to 2014, when she was involved in the creation of the Amazing Lace exhibition. Between 2018 and 2019, she had the initiative of Friends of Lace involvement in conserving, re-packing and storing the lace collection that is currently held in Limerick Museum. She was the organise/co-organiser of the 2018, 2019 and 2024 editions of the Amazing Lace Symposium, a gathering of lacemakers held in Limerick. Gabriela is the Communication Officer of Friends of Lace Limerick and the webmaster of limericklace.ie and lacesofireland.ie; she also maintains the related social media channels. She is a member of IOLI and OIDFA. She is also a web editor for OIDFA in a volunteer capacity.
Until 2024, Gabriela was lecturer in Digital Media and Interaction Design at the University of Limerick. She retired in January.
Rosie Finnegan-Bell
Rosie Finnegan-Bell is a fourth generation lacemaker, who is dedicated to promoting the rich heritage and tradition of lace-making in South Armagh which extends back to the 1820s. She is the chairperson of the South Armagh Lace Collective and works tirelessly to highlight the important role and contribution that Culloville, Crossmaglen and the surrounding area had on making Carrickmacross Lace such a major international success story.
Rosie is also a member of IOLI.
In her day-to-day life, Rosie works as a senior occupational therapist.