This lovely old photograph shows a young girl wearing a collar of Irish crochet.

This is a distinctive form of crochet and was developed in the Convent schools of Ireland in the early 19th Century to provide employment in rural and fishing communities.

The crochet is made with a fine metal crochet hook and usually a cotton thread. Each motif is made separately and then joined together by a mesh or bars, which are often decorated with small loops called picots.

The style is derived from earlier Italian needle laces such as Venetian  Gros Point, but incorporates Irish motifs such a shamrocks and harps as well as designs taken from nature.

These include roses, daisies, butterflies, grapes and ferns. In the finest work these were given an attractive three-dimensional appearance by padding some motifs. Additional layers of petals were added to the roses and the butterflies were given separate wings.

The weight and durability of crochet meant it was particularly suitable for articles of costume such as jackets and dresses, collars, cuffs and accessories such as bags and gloves as well as doilies for the home.

The industry became highly successful and organized during the course of the 19th century, exporting work as far away as America and providing a livelihood for workers during the Potato Famine (1845-6), finally declining with the growth of machine lace.

Here you can see that extra layers of crochet have been added to give the characteristic three-dimensional appearance to the roses.

Irish Crochet continues to be made today as a hobby lace.

Also, mats with characteristic layered roses on a mesh background are still made commercially in a number of countries today, but do not match the quality of the earlier pieces. The Gallery of Lace and Linens contains some further pictures of this lace.