Category: Felt

On Sunday, the 10th of May 2026, Feltmakers Ireland held its Annual General Meeting (AGM). The meeting began with an engaging talk by our guest speaker, Zoë Daly of Èriu, who captivated attendees with the personal story of how a gifted baby blanket inspired her journey to becoming an advocate for Irish wool and yarn production.

Zoë spoke about the development of their Farm-to-Yarn wool and fibre enterprise, outlining both the opportunities and the challenges facing the Irish wool industry. She discussed the decline of fibre and yarn processing infrastructure in Ireland, reflecting a wider trend seen across Europe, and highlighted the long-term impact of the loss of local processing facilities. She reflected on how Ireland’s colonial history influenced attitudes towards wool and textile production and addressed the current EU policy on wool classification and the potential benefits of recognising wool not as a waste product, but as a sustainable agricultural resource.

The talk was both informative and inspiring, and generated great enthusiasm amongst members, particularly around the possibility of organising a future visit to the farm.

Fibre to Purchase

Zoë and her husband, Wicklow farmer Lionel Mackey, brought lots of yummy Bluefaced Leicester/Romney-blend fibre for members to purchase. One can also purchase their dyed and undyed fibre via their website – https://eriu.eu/collections/eriu-fiber-elements

Editor’s Note: Eriu’s undyed Romney was among the fibres we distributed to our members to encourage them to create felted artwork with Irish Wool for an exhibition at the European Wool Experience in Tralee. The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland generously provided funding for this project.

• There is a recap of our time at the European Wool Experience in Co Kerry here – https://feltmakersireland.com/2026/03/30/recap-feltmakers-ireland-at-the-european-wool-experience/.

• Guild member Hélène Dooley has written a much more thorough article about her experiences for the Felting and Fiber Studio – https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2026/04/20/european-wool-exchange-ewe/

Editor’s Note: Zoë mentioned an informative book on European wool by Betty Stikkers. We found it online as a PDF – (click on the image of the book to launch the PDF) – https://www.europeanwoolassociation.org/seite/613818

The AGM

After Zoe’s talk came the business of the AGM. Our chair, Deirdre Carroll, shared the many amazing accomplishments of the past year. In addition to our annual exhibition at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, we were part of a high-profile joint exhibition at the National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny. Amongst the highlights is that we now have over 170 members and that our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking‘, is now available in over 30 public libraries throughout Ireland. Editor’s Note: If you would like to borrow the book, you can request it to come to your local library through the Libraries Ireland website – https://www.librariesireland.ie/

Next, our Secretary, Lorna Cady, shared our exciting upcoming activities for the coming year. (Some of these events can be found under the Events Page on our website.

Finally, our Treasurer, Sam (Samantha) Fagan, shared an update on the finances.

Election of Chair and Committee 2026/2027

After serving three years as our chair, Deirdre Carroll is stepping down. Events Coordinator Loli Cox is also stepping down from her position. Elizabeth Redding was duly approved as Chairperson for the upcoming term.

The Committee also voted to appoint Lucia Errity as a new Committee member. In addition, feedback from the Members’ Survey indicated that several other members are interested in becoming involved and supporting the Committee’s work. We will be contacting those members in the coming days.

The Bursary Award

Since 2021, Feltmakers Ireland has offered a bursary. This award grants one lucky member 250 euros to go towards the payment of a textile workshop of their choice. The course can be in-person or online. Afterwards, the member shares their experience via a brief write-up and some photographs.

Last year’s bursary was awarded to Hilary Delaney, whose stimulating experience of ecoprinting was recently featured on the blog. https://feltmakersireland.com/2026/05/07/news-bursary-awarded-to-hilary-delaney-botanical-printing-with-gabrielle-bishop-at-mulranny-arts/

This year’s awardee is guild member Elizabeth O’Connor. We cannot wait to see what she explores!

Artwork Displayed

Members were encouraged to share their felted artwork to display and/or sell, and a few accepted the invitation. Amongst the members who shared work were Elizabeth Redding, Fiona Leech, and Annika Berglund.

Editor’s Note: Guild member Hélène Dooley teaches the Hanging Spiral Workshop here – https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/hanging-felted-spiral/

Refreshments

Of course, there were several delicious cakes courtesy of our members. Included was the Dessert with History from Lorna: This time, she featured a Battenberg Cake!

Zoom Access

For the past couple of years, we have offered Zoom access to the AGM, and we will continue to do so as Dublin is far away for many of our members.

There were just over 30 members at the AGM, with about half of the attendees tuned in via Zoom. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all members who attended in person and via Zoom, and to thank everyone who contributed to making the day such a wonderful gathering.

Editor’s Note: We will endeavour to include more members’ artwork at next year’s AGM – perhaps through an online display.

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Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

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