Sínann Fetherston speaks with Beth Moran, one of the country's most prominent handweavers, about her introduction to the old Irish craft and the future of her work.
RTÉ One's Masters: Keepers of Tradition is a documentary series focusing on Irish practitioners of rare, traditional, and remarkable crafts and skills.
This landmark series, made with the support of The Heritage Council and Coimisiún na Meán, aims to champion local master craftpeople, showcase their skills and trades, and show how they have endured and diversified. It aims to inspire the next generation of makers to take up the mantle and keep these trades alive in the 21st century.
Each episode will follow the creative process as the artisans - ranging from stone masons to basket weavers - take on local commissions and showcase their hard-earned techniques.
In one episode, viewers meet Beth Moran, an American woman who insists that it was never her plan to become one of Ireland's most prominent handweavers.
"Ireland wasn't really the plan," she says, speaking over the phone from her long-time home on Clare Island.
As a young photographer, she left her home in America, filled with dreams of becoming a photographer, and somehow found herself on the Emerald Isle.
"I did a workshop in the West of Ireland for years - from 1976, really - and then I moved here in 1980," she explains. "I think from the first day I came here, I felt attached."
At that time, the island had no electricity or running water, and her accommodation was in a lighthouse. For many, this would be unsustainable, but for Beth, it was meant to be.
Finding her place in the community, the American woman would help out on a farm nearby, quickly falling in love with the farmer's son, Máirtín.
"Best decision of my life", she smiles.
With limited resources and access to materials, Beth's career as a photographer fell by the wayside.
So, when a weaver who visited the island offered some lessons in weaving, she signed up on the spot and ended up buying a loom that same day.
"It was one way that I could express myself creatively, which was important to me," she explains. "It was also something that was available. We had a sheep farm, so the wool was available. It just seemed to be a good fit!"
For decades, Máirtín supported her work – rearing and shearing the sheep, setting aside the best fleeces for her. Since his death, their son Donal has taken on that role.
As well as making her own creations, Beth has dedicated time to teaching her techniques to the younger generations, connecting with the local school and taking children under her wing.
"There's some good potential there," she insists. "I would love to pass it on to somebody. All you can do is give them what you can and see what comes out of it."
"I feel so personally invested in this now," she adds. "It was a craft that was common in every village here. All of the villages had spinners, and they were dying their wool. Then it was lost for two generations, so to bring it back around, you know, I have a personal investment."
In her episode of Masters, Beth showcases her work creating the traditional Clare Island carpet, woven from the wool of local mountain sheep and coloured with dyes made from botanicals foraged on the island.
She weaves the incredible piece for Olof Gill - her friend Anna's son - whom Beth once babysat in the lighthouse when he was just two years old.
Now that he has moved away for a big job in Brussels with his young family and a new baby, she has decided to make him one of her signature carpets so he can have "a little piece of Clare Island" in the heart of Europe.
Although the traditional methods are close to her heart, and she is passionate about preserving them, Beth says she is excited to see how weaving can evolve.
"I do all of the traditional things and keep up the indigenous carpets, but I love to explore new materials and structures and designs," she says.
When we speak, she is experimenting with Japanese gold yarn that is so fine it's "almost transparent". The golden hue of the threads will hopefully lend themself to a panel Beth hopes to create, inspired by the Northern Lights.
By challenging herself to come up with new ideas, Moran hopes to not only keep herself motivated but to inspire others to take up the loom or simply invest in buying some quality pieces.
"What good is it if I make it and nobody buys it?" she laughs.
"I think the whole craft scene, since COVID, has really blossomed. A lot of people went back to craft, and I think there's a lot of focus on slow-everything nowadays. It's a good thing! I'm not worried. I think there's a good future."
Watch Masters: Keepers of Tradition on RTÉ One, Mondays at 8:30pm. Catch up on RTÉ Player.
