Shop window for Irish wool at Dingle Food Festival

That was because a Wool Marquee attracted visitors from many parts of the country to discuss the industry’s potential and the circular economy.

Irish-grown products were exhibited, and the ancient craft of wool spinning, which was as old as the oral tradition itself, was demonstrated.

Irish wool from hardy upland sheep flocks has been woven over the years and knitted into fashionable knitwear and other products that have given the Irish identity across the world.

It was given a huge boost in the United States shortly after John F. Kennedy became the country’s 35th president in 1961.

That was a direct result of the ballad singing group, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, each wearing a matching Aran sweater on the Ed Sullivan Show, which had a television audience of over 80 million.

A woman in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, realising there was a harsh winter in New York around that time, did what any Irish mother would do — she posted hand-knit wool pullovers to her sons to keep them warm.

Johanna Clancy’s sons, Paddy, Tom, and Liam, who had formed a ballad singing group, and their friend, Tommy Mackem from Keady in Armagh, began wearing the jumpers, named after the Aran Islands off the Galway coast.

Film stars Steve McQueen and Marilyn Monroe, and the future Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco were soon being photographed or filmed wearing the iconic knitwear. Elvis Presley was also spotted wearing one.

More recently, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who now has 284 million Instagram followers, also wore the iconic jumper to create an authentic image in a photoshoot to promote her album Folklore.

These were timely boosts for the sheep industry and the farmers who supply it with wool sheared from flocks that graze the hillsides and lowlands of rural Ireland against a challenging backdrop of volatile global markets and cyclical prices.

Over the years, the number of skilled knitters in rural Ireland dwindled, but the designs and stitches that had been handed down through families for generations were incorporated into the modern machine production era. Aran sweaters were once worn by fishermen off the West Coast and became picture postcard images of an Ireland that has largely disappeared.

They still symbolise the creativity of the Irish folk craft tradition in the modern world and are in demand for a range of clothing, from shawls and scarves to socks and gloves.

Wool is also used in carpets, rugs and cushions, blankets and curtains, clerical vestments, upholstery, sustainable insulation for houses and in many other products.

The sector’s potential was highlighted at the Dingle Festival, where the Wool Marquee was spearheaded by West Kerry Wool, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (Kerry) and the Kerry Lamb Co-Op.

Irish Grown Wool Council, a voluntary all-island body which aims to promote the brand into value-added products for the benefit of farmers and the wider supply chain, was part of the initiative.

The sector, which involves some 50,000 sheep farming families, is seen as having the potential to turn itself into a significant success story, bringing new income sources and a positive imagery and reputation for the island of Ireland.

A review of the potential demand in domestic and international markets for wool-based products was published in 2022 by a consortium of experts from Munster Technological University and Donegal Yarns.

The establishment of an Irish Grown Wool Council as an industry-led body to champion Irish wool and to develop the brand domestically and internationally, was one of the main recommendations of the review report.

It was launched last year with primary producers, farming organisations, and industry representatives from Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue, replying to questions from Galway West Independent TD Catherine Connolly in the Dail last month, said the Wool Council is independent, and consequently, he does not hold a position on it.

A recommended Wool hub, which was also launched last year, is headed by the Circular Bioeconomy Cluster South-West at Munster Technological University (Kerry Campus).

Although the Irish Wool Council is an independent body, he said he is supportive of it and has allocated it €30,000 in start-up seed funding.

“I am optimistic that, over time, it will enable stakeholders across the island of Ireland to realise the potential of wool as a natural, sustainable and versatile material.

The Council's goal is to generate a roadmap to address the current challenges and create future opportunities for indigenous Irish wool,” he said.