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Ardfinnan Woollen Mills

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Coordinates: 52°18′40″N 7°52′46″W / 52.311222°N 7.879583°W / 52.311222; -7.879583
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ardfinnan Woollen Mills is an historic wool mills, that traded as messrs. Mulcahy Redmond on the underlying banks of Ardfinnan Castle, County Tipperary, Ireland.[1] Established 1869 as a vertical mills it was known for its woollen tweed and worsted suitings, later tailoring ready-made suits on-site as the only Irish firm completing all stages of processing from sheep to clothing.[2]

Watermill building dating from c.1885 viewed from Ardfinnan bridge.

History

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Early history

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John Mulcahy established Mulcahy, Redmond in the 1860s when he leased the underlying banks of Ardfinnan Castle on the River Suir, where he erected buildings and converted a flour milling watermill to woollen manufacturing.[3] The Mulcahy family was descended from the Fielding family, who claimed to have imported the first industrial wool looms to Ireland at Dripsey Woollen Mills beside Dripsey Castle and Glanworth Woollen Mills beside Glanworth Castle. At Ardfinnan the Suir flowed directly under the watermill from the mill race, uniquely exiting under an arch of the adjoining historical 14 arch Ardfinnan bridge itself, insuring a powerful flow. A watermill was in this advantageous position since before the mid 17th century.[4] The large green on the opposite side of the bridge provided an expansive area for drying and tentering locally sourced wool, mostly produced by sheep in the surrounding Galtee and Knockmealdown mountains. The village had a long tradition of independent hand-weavers and spinners, which provided a skilled local workforce.[5]

In 1883 a large fire destroyed the main six-story watermill building, damaging surrounding structures and Mulcahy's adjoining dwelling at Mill House. Employment numbers were estimated from 50 to 100.[6][7]

The water wheel was replaced by a water turbine by 1885, built in New Jersey by T.C. Alcott & Son, it was among only two other mills in Munster to employ this source of power, those being Ashgrove Woollen Mills and Kerry Woollen Mills.[4][8] By now Mulcahy had won competitions for the quality of his mills fabrics judged in the capital city of Dublin.[8] Rows of cottages were built by the company to house its workforce, of which had a large influence on the growth of the village and later Ardfinnan GAA as the men often played football on the green opposite the mill after a days work.[9] With its own gas and electrical supply predating 1921, the latter was provided to a total of 14 homes in Ardfinnan and all of its electric street lights until the ESB introduced the Rural Electrification Scheme which took over the supply in January 1953.[10][11]

Mulcahy, Redmond was selected to represent the Irish Woollen Industry along with 12 other firms at the Cork International Exhibition of 1902.[12]

Galtee Motor Cloth

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Mulcahy, Redmond as seen in the 1880s - Note the presence of the adjoining office building and gate (right) demolished by the 1990s

In 1906 the firm patented the Galtee Motor Cloth, an innovative cloth combining warmth with a waterproof-breathable functionality.[13] Named after the Galtee Mountains and evoking the inclement Irish weather, it was claimed to be "the warmest cloth ever made for motoring coats". It was a layered cloth of Irish frieze and merino wool woven with mohair from the Angora goat. It would be slightly porous when dry, therefore crucially breathable and thus hygienic. However, when the outer surface became wet, the pores of the cloth closed due to its contraction and subsequently became rainproof.[14]

In late 1906 King Edward VII commissioned the firm to produce lengths of Galtee Motor Cloth for his motoring coat, at which time his was the first royal household to adopt the use of the motorcar.[15] Irish motoring pioneer Richard J. Mecredy, remarked in 1908, "We have used one of these coats for several years, and find it perfect from every point of view", highlighting that it truly was waterproof not only after continuous use, but also when exposed to a water hose.[16] In Great Britain and Ireland, the Galtee Motor Cloth became popular for bespoke tailored car coats. Ready-made coats were first supplied by Pim Bros.[17]

For inclement weather conditions on the road, these woollen coats were superior in their multi-purpose functionality to either fur coats, rubber Mackintosh or cotton gabardine Burberry raincoats.[14] High market demand was brief however, as the introduction of car windshields made weatherproof motoring coats obsolete.

1914 - 1960s

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The British War Office signed large contracts with Mulcahy, Redmond during the First World War to produce khaki serge for military uniforms.[18] Following this, the mills expanded to the opposite side of the road and had the largest boiler in the south of Ireland, imported from Glasgow.[11] John Mulcahy bought Ardfinnan Castle in 1921.[19]

Following Irish independence, the state commissioned uniforms for the civil service, including special commissions for suits and overcoats for Éamon de Valera to wear representing Ireland at the League of Nations, including both as President of the Council of the League of Nations in 1932 and President of the Assembly of the League of Nations in 1938.

After the Second World War, a men's, boy's, and later a women's ready-made clothing department employing over 70 female workers was operated at the mills, making Mulcahy, Redmond the only firm within the Republic of Ireland that was completing all stages of clothing manufacture from raw fleece to a tailored garment. It was thus the most vertically-integrated woollen mills and also had a darning department for repairing customers woollens.[2][20]

Ardfinnan House, 17 Trinity Street, Dublin 2, was the address of their flagship store, showrooms and offices. The sign "Ardfinnan House" remains on this building today. A trade showroom was on South William Street in Dublin. Their United Kingdom partner was at Londonderry House, Chichester Street, Belfast.

In both 1961 and 1962, Ardfinnan thornproof tweeds won the Premier London Award and Georgian Silver Cup at international level in London.[2]

Tweed was proudly designed and produced for the uniforms of the airline staff of Aer Lingus.

A Gold Medal of Industrial Excellence was awarded to Mulcahy, Redmond for their bouclé tweed at the 1965 Leipzig Trade Fair in Germany, out of 350 entries from all fields of industry.[21]

Closure

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Mulcahy, Redmond in the early 1970s.

With up to 500 people dependent on the mill, the remaining workforce of over 100 employees were laid off in early January 1973. The firm was strangled by competitive disadvantages following the onslaught of offshore imports and synthetics, climaxing with Ireland's admission to the EEC.[22] The firm had run into financial debt of over £200,000. Its closure resulted in a large protest in the nearby town of Clonmel as promises by the Fianna Fail government to sustain the mill through financial aid of £250,000 were not followed through. Youghal Carpets was the only Irish firm to receive such financial aid.

References

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  1. ^ Worral, J. (1962). The British and Dominion Textile Industry, Excluding Lancashire & Yorkshire (1 ed.). New York: New York Public Library. p. 617.
  2. ^ a b c "Magnificent Array of Readymade Suits pg. 7". Wicklow People. 27 April 1963.
  3. ^ Journal of The Waterford & South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society, Volume VII, Harvey & Co. 1901
  4. ^ a b Industrial Ireland 1750-1930: An Archaeology, Colin Rynne, Collins Press, 2006
  5. ^ Nugent, W. J. "Spinning and Weaving". Dúchas. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  6. ^ Exeter Times
  7. ^ "Burning of Ardfinnan Woollen Factory". Clonmel Chronicle. Clonmel. 3 October 1883. p. 2.
  8. ^ a b "Ardfinnan Woolen Factory". Cork Weekly Herald. Cork. 21 February 1885. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Club History - ardfinnan-tipperary-gaa". www.ardfinnan.tipperary.gaa.ie. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Connecting Tipperary to the national grid". 18 September 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Ardfinnan Woollen Mills". The Clonmel Chronicle. Clonmel. 14 September 1921. p. 3.
  12. ^ Cork International Exhibition 1902 The Illustrated Exhibitor. Wilson, Hartnell & Co. 1902.
  13. ^ "Dublin Motor Show, Ballsbridge, January 5th to 12th, 1907". The Irish Times. 1907.
  14. ^ a b Health's Highway, R.J. Mecredy, Yellon, Williams & Co. Ltd., 1909
  15. ^ "Dublin Motor Show, Ballsbridge, January 5th to 12th, 1907". The Irish Times. 1907.
  16. ^ The Encyclopaedia of Motoring, R.J. Mecredy, Mecredy Percy & Co. 1908
  17. ^ "Dublin Motor Show, Ballsbridge, January 5th to 12th, 1907". The Irish Times. 1907.
  18. ^ In a Time of War: Tipperary 1914-1918, John Dennehy, Merrion, 2013
  19. ^ "Death of Mr W.J. Mulcahy". Munster Tribune. 25 March 1960. p. 5.
  20. ^ "Funges New readymade Department". Wicklow People. 28 May 1960. p. 5.
  21. ^ Keane, Terry (23 September 1965). "Wool firm scored all along the line". The Irish Times. p. 13. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  22. ^ Ó Brádaigh, Ruairí (December 1973). Our People, Our Future: What Éire Nua Means (1 ed.). Dublin: Sinn Féin. p. 28.

52°18′40″N 7°52′46″W / 52.311222°N 7.879583°W / 52.311222; -7.879583

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