Legendary Products of Ireland

In the course of my recent journey, I was able to see firsthand how three famous Irish products are made: gorgeous Donegal tweed, delicate Belleek porcelain, and a fine whiskey, Bushmills.

1) Tweed

The classic Donegal tweed is a herringbone with different colors of wool woven into the pattern to give it slight highlights and accents. Long ago, I bought my first jacket from a New York men’s store called J. Press — still, to my mind, the finest purveyor of traditional men’s clothing in the city — so I was particularly keen to see how this beautiful fabric is made and perhaps to augment the Harper wardrobe. Unlike the weavers of Harris, the celebrated tweed from Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the craftspeople of Donegal have not organized a supporting confederation, and the sad fact is that they are slowly dying out. Those who carry on are based around the small town of Ardara, in the western part of Donegal.

My research led me to the modest main street storefront of Eddie Doherty, a man who can spin a tale as sure as he can a fine piece of cloth. “I’ve been doing this for near 50 years,” he told me. “People say, ‘Oh Eddie, isn’t it time to knock off?’ But then what would I do?” And he does a lot. The shop is full of vests, scarves, hats, caps and throws, all made on the loom in the back, which Doherty was glad to demonstrate. In addition to classic Donegal, he also weaves a cloth with a design that to my mind evokes the fields and bogs I saw on drives throughout the countryside — deep greens with hints of brown and blue scattered with flecks of orange.

Duly impressed with the sheer quantity and variety of products, I asked him if he made all of it himself. “Oh yes, indeed,” he answered with a twinkle in his eye. “Winters here are quiet and long. This fills the time.”

I left with a bill of goods that included a vest, hat, and a beautiful scarf. Total cost of these one-of-a-kind artisanally made items: $208. If you can’t make it to Ardara, you can shop for Doherty’s products online, but alas, it’s not the same as seeing him at his loom!

2) Whiskey

Attentive readers will be aware of my fondness for a wee dram of single malt scotch, but I’m also a devotee of good Irish whiskey. As the Irish like to point out, they invented the stuff and the Scots came along and made it their own. But the Irish have been playing a smart game of catch-up, and over the past few years, the range of Irish offerings has grown in number and in quality.

Having visited the Jameson Distillery on my last visit to Ireland in 2008, I was keen to see Bushmills, which is up in the north part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, very close to the Giant’s Causeway. Believed to be the oldest licensed distillery in the world, Bushmills (or, more properly, “Old Bushmills”) has a line of distinguished bottlings that wins medals in spirits competitions all over the world.

The most important distinction between Irish and Scottish whiskies is that the Irish distill the spirit three times, the Scots twice. The Irish believe that the third time is the charm, removing remaining impurities that can detract from the whiskey’s character. Certainly, I generally find that Irish whiskies are smoother. For these reasons, I prefer Irish whiskey as a pre-dinner drink with a dash of water and one cube of ice. Single malt scotch is for after dinner, neat, with a little water as well.

So, Bushmills. The distillery turns out five iterations that are widely available. Bushmills Original is a blended whiskey (a combination of single malt and grain whiskey) that is smooth, pleasant and better for a dash of soda water. Next is my favorite, Black Bush, a superb blended whiskey, darker in color and intensity, but with the hallmark smoothness. Three single malts round out the range, a 10-year, a 16-year and a 21-year. The standout for me is the 16 (my personal theory is that whiskies hit a real sweet spot between 16 and 18 years). As is true of many other whiskies, the 16 is matured in a combination of Oloroso sherry and bourbon barrels, but it is finished in Port barrels, which I believe gives it an added depth.

The Bushmills tour is admirably thorough. Some one-off bottlings are only available there, and it took real discipline on my part not to buy them. But with TSA regulations requiring you to pack bottles in your checked luggage, it’s not worth the risk, as I once learned the hard way. What you buy in the airport shops can be carried on board, and happily, Bushmills is widely distributed here at home.

3) China

I used to think of Belleek as the twee stuff you might pick up as a last-minute gift at duty-free on the way home from Ireland: shamrock- adorned cats or mugs labeled “Himself” and “Herself.” Much of this regrettable merchandise is indeed part of the portfolio, but none of it does justice to the superb artistry that is also very much a part of Belleek, and that I was lucky to see firsthand during a visit to the factory just over the border from County Donegal, in Northern Ireland’s County Fermanagh.

I arrived on a day when tours weren’t available, but an excellent introductory video augmented the displays. And the shop had the widest selection of Belleek anywhere in the world, with several pieces sold exclusively on the property.

Celebrating its 155th anniversary this year, Belleek enjoyed success early in its history with its delicate Parian ware, (named after the white marble found on the Greek island of Paros). The firm’s reputation spread when Queen Victoria ordered a complete service of its Echinus ware based on sea urchin shells, and Belleek followed with other nautically inspired patterns such as Neptune, Limpet and Tridacna.

While most of today’s production is appealing everyday ware, Belleek still crafts works that embody the highest levels of artistry and craftsmanship. Any piece that fails a rigorous inspection process is destroyed — there are no seconds.

Belleek has a number of everyday lines. The classic Parian, still made by hand, remains eggshell thin and translucent when held to the light. While I was in Ireland, the company released its newest pattern, Aran, which is based on the nubby texture of the famous fishermen’s sweaters. Two good places to look for Belleek in Dublin are the House of Ireland (37/38 Nassau Street) and Kilkenny (6-15 Nassau Street).