Shear Potential: Irish wool’s revival and the women leading the charge
Not all wool is created equal—nor is all "Irish" knitwear truly Irish.
On a summer morning at the Athenry livestock mart in 2024, an unlikely fusion of industry and artistry took place. Bales of freshly shorn fleece shared the floor with pieces of contemporary fibre art. As sheep farmers piled sacks of wool ready for sale, just steps away local artisans showcased intricate knitwear, handwoven textiles, and felted sculptures – all made from the very same native Irish wool.
The Land to the Hand exhibition was a bold statement: Irish wool, long dismissed as too coarse, too impractical, too unworkable, had found its champions. Now, that movement is gaining traction. A determined cohort of wool growers, artisans, and business minds are proving that native wool can be commercially viable once more, while offering a more sustainable alternative to imported materials.
The real issue is not the wool itself. It's the loss of the traditional knowledge in how to work with it.
At the forefront of this push is the Galway Wool Co-Op, a farmer-led initiative working to re-establish a market for high-quality, traceable Irish wool, and the Galway Artisans Collective, a network of designers and craftspeople proving that Irish wool has a future in contemporary fashion. Working exclusively with Galway sheep—the only native Irish breed—their mission is clear: restore the economic and cultural value of Irish wool while holding the industry accountable for misleading branding practices.
“If you’re going to go down the green route, go down there with honesty,” says Blátnaid Gallagher, founder of the Galway Wool Co-Op.
Reclaiming wool’s worth
For decades, Irish wool has been undervalued—discarded as waste or sold for pennies. “The challenge for 99% of farmers in Ireland is that the cost to shear a sheep far exceeds the price paid for the wool,” explains sheep farmer and Galway Wool Co-Op member, Gerard Warde.
While the wool from native Galway sheep is durable, insulating, and naturally weather resistant, it’s largely ignored by the fashion industry in favour of softer, imported Merino wool. The knock-on effect? Irish wool lost its place in the global textile economy, and farmers saw their profits evaporate.
