VALUING MOUNTAIN WOOL

Sheep farming has been common in Northern Ireland for centuries – there is evidence dating back to 1600), can trace his own firm’s history back to the early 1900s, when the tradition of spinning, weaving and knitting in the cottages of Donegal became more professional. Donegal Yarns now supplies yarn to spinners and knitters across Ireland from its traditional vertical mill – including spinning all the wool for Mourne Textiles’ blankets and supplying some of the fleece for its rugs. “Irish wool is typically coarser and more durable than merino, so it’s particularly suitable for interior design and wall hangings,” says Weiniger. While Irish sheep were traditionally bred for meat, its wool industry is beginning to find new markets – in China and America as well as domestically. “The way forward as I see it is in educating farmers about how they can add value to the product through care of the sheep and sorting and grading the wool,” he adds.