Podcast Summary:

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Dr. Molly-Claire Gillett
Episode: Irish Lacemaking: Art, Industry and Cultural Practice (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Date: December 21, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Dr. Miranda Melcher interviews Dr. Molly-Claire Gillett about her new book, Irish Lacemaking: Art, Industry and Cultural Practice, the inaugural volume of Bloomsbury's Critical Craft Studies series. The conversation explores the intertwined stories of lace as technical craft, economic driver, philanthropic tool, and marker of Irish identity—from the late 18th century through the 20th century. Central to Gillett’s account is the remarkable, under-documented career of Emily Anderson, a lace designer, teacher, inspectress, and key connector within Ireland’s lace industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis of the Book & Methodology

• Gillett explains her background as a postdoctoral fellow split between Ireland and Canada, and how her doctoral work at Concordia University (Montreal) explored Irish lacemaking historically, materially, and through hands-on craft (04:00–04:50).
• She emphasizes the importance of practicing lace herself to gain an embodied understanding of the craft.

2. Emily Anderson: A Lacy Lens into History

• Emily Anderson, an often-overlooked historical figure, is introduced (05:13). Gillett discovered Anderson’s legacy via a family connection, noting:

  “By following her career...I was able to start understanding how many of these stakeholders actually worked together and were...connected to each other and sometimes in conflict as well.” (08:30)

• Anderson’s career (1856–1948) mapped the Irish lace industry, moving from student to teacher to inspector (08:45).

3. Lace and Irish Society Before and After the Famine

• Lacework in Ireland has ancient, even mythical roots (10:10).
• The organized lace industry began in the 18th century, gaining momentum in the 19th with philanthropic and business ventures such as Carrickmacross (appliqué lace) and Limerick (embroidered net lace) (11:30–13:30).
• During and after the devastating Famine (1845–1852), lace became a survival enterprise. Philanthropists—often clergymen’s wives—founded lace “industries,” sometimes enlisting whole families:

  “You could even have a whole family working on crochet...the children making easy motifs, maybe the older sister and the mom making the more difficult motifs, and then sending them to somebody else to join them up together.” (13:40)

• Post-Famine philanthropy proved unsustainable; after an initial boom, local industries often faltered due to lack of investment in skill and design (16:20).

4. Lace as Philanthropic Signal and Political Symbol

• Irish lace served not just economic needs but also functioned as a performative act of British benevolence toward Ireland during Union:

  “For consumers in Britain...an uncomplicated way to be philanthropic...was to purchase Irish lace.” (21:40)

• Wearing Irish lace, then and now, became a political statement—echoed in events as recent as the British royal wedding.

5. The 1883 Exhibitions & the Push for Better Design

• The 1883 Mansion House (London) and Cork lace exhibitions marked a turning point; critics called for improved design, favoring Continental (French, Italian) styles (28:40).
• Memorable moment:

  Gillett narrates how an accident at the Cork exhibition—workers tumbling through a glass ceiling—postponed a lecture and led to an impromptu meeting of key figures, Alan Cole (V&A, London) and James Brennan (Cork), whose “eureka moment” spurred a new design program (29:40). “I love to think of somebody falling through the roof as being the reason that a new design program was developed.” (29:58)

6. Competitions, Influence, and the Circulation of 'Good Design'

• Definition of “good design” was dictated mainly by English authorities, stirring concerns about colonial hegemony (30:29).
• Continental lace was set as the ideal, with Irish designers like Emily Anderson sent to London to sketch and study such examples (32:10).

  “She was also sent to the South Kensington Museum on a scholarship to do sketches...what I find really interesting...she’s being told that good design is [continental], but she’s also looking to all of these different cultural sources...looking to design from all over the world.” (32:31)

• Competitions rewarded designers, brought commissions, and circulated photographic exemplars (33:30).
• Notably, Gillett tracked a photo’s journey from Irish convent to the V&A (London), showcasing the interconnectedness of periphery and center (38:00).

7. The DATI and the Modernization of the Industry

• In 1900, the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland (DATI) took over from London-based bodies, marking a shift to indigenous Irish administration (40:55).

  “It was the first indigenous Irish government body...and it took over the duties of the Department of Science and Art in Ireland.” (41:10)

• Focus shifted to crochet lace, which was cheaper, quicker, and increasingly associated with “Irishness” (44:15).

8. The Role of the Lace Inspectress

• Anderson’s duties included administering teacher qualification exams, judging competitions, and even acting as an expert witness in court to protect Irish lace against foreign knock-offs (46:30).

  “In at least one case...Emily Anderson would come to this courtroom and offer testimony almost on behalf of Irish crochet lace.” (49:00)

9. Decline and Survival: 20th Century and Beyond

• While often blamed on World War I, decline predated that due to changing fashions, market dependencies, and precarious philanthropic foundations (50:56–54:20).
• Yet lace traditions survived in practice, especially as regional craft and heritage, and saw smaller revivals from tourism and fashion commissions. Some practices are now registered as Irish intangible cultural heritage (55:50).

10. Craft as Living Practice

• Gillett herself learned several Irish lace techniques as part of her research, working with contemporary Irish makers and communities:

  “I wanted to get a sense of how these laces came together, what it actually felt like to make them, so that I could better understand why the designs were the way that they were, and what it might have felt like to...work on this type of textile.” (57:42)

• The COVID-19 pandemic spurred further revival and digital teaching of lace (59:00).

11. Continuing the Conversation: Current and Future Research

• Gillett is currently researching links between Irish and Canadian women’s craft societies, and organizing a pop-up lace festival in Galway.

  “I started working on the Irish Country Women’s Association because I was noticing everywhere mention of that organization as a teacher, as a kind of steward, as a promoter...of Irish lace making throughout the 20th century.” (62:00)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On discovering Emily Anderson:

  “It was really through that connection with that great niece...that I was able to piece together a little bit more of Emily Anderson’s story. And...her career kind of mapped the Irish lace industry in the late 19th and early 20th century.” (07:15)

• On Irish lace as family labor:

  “You could even have a whole family working on crochet with the children making easy motifs...” (13:40)

• On the politics of benevolence:

  “A really easy way to intervene and to feel benevolent and philanthropic was to purchase Irish lace...to show their sort of benevolence.” (22:19)

• On the accident that changed Irish lace education:

  “I love to think of somebody falling through the roof as being the reason that a new design program was developed.” (29:58)

• On the paradox of ‘good design’:

  “Who gets to decide what is good design? And...the people who get to say what good design is are the people coming over from London...That is something that should give pause.” (30:29)

• On the fragility of philanthropic industries:

  “When an industry is founded with philanthropic intent, the question of its sustainability is really a problem.” (51:45)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 03:04 – Gillett Introduction and Project Genesis
• 05:13 – Who Was Emily Anderson?
• 10:09 – History of Irish Lace Pre- and Post-Famine
• 21:40 – Philanthropy, Lace, and Irish-British Relations
• 28:40 – The 1883 Exhibitions and Need for Better Design
• 32:31 – Circulation of Good Design, Emily’s Sketchbooks
• 40:55 – Role of DATI and Shift in Industry Administration
• 46:29 – Duties of a Lace Inspectress
• 50:56 – The Real Story of Lace’s Decline
• 55:24 – Survival of Lace Skills and Cultural Heritage
• 57:34 – Gillett’s Own Lace Making Practice
• 61:27 – Ongoing Research and Revival Activities

Conclusion

Gillett’s Irish Lacemaking offers a vibrant, interwoven history of design, labor, gender, and national identity, anchored by the lived experience of Emily Anderson and the communities she connected. The episode is rich in anecdote (“somebody falling through the roof”), analytic rigor, and personal craft insight, blending scholarship, heritage, and the enduring power of making.

Recommended for: Anyone interested in craft studies, Irish history, women’s labor, museum and design history, and the cultural politics of material heritage.