Cottage industries were the start of it all for Irish food and drink

Many farm families made butter and engaged in other land-based enterprises, such as alcohol and lime production. Many fabrics such as linen and lace were also made by women and girls working in their own homes.

The book, published by Wordwell and sponsored by FBD, Teagasc and the Agricultural Trust, was launched by Tánaiste Micheál Martin at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.

It was co-authored by Dr Liam Downey, a former Director of Teagasc and Adjunct Professor of Archaeology at UCD, Dara Downey, a lecturer in English literature in TCD and UCC, Muiris O'Sullivan, Emiritus Professor of Archaeology at UCD, and Derry O'Donovan, a former Senior Business Adviser at AIB Bank.

The book records and documents the establishment and development of the most prominent of the cottage industries, whose products were largely made from farm produce, such as wool, linen, butter and alcohol.

Professor Downey said the methods employed in making cottage-industry products in Ireland bear similarities to those used in Britain and Europe.

Charcoal-making sites, for instance, in the Beara Peninsula in Co Cork, closely resembled, both in size and form, those used in the woods in Sheffield.

Turf-stacking sites may be compared to those used in Wales, while lace-making taught in convent schools may have reflected models employed on the continent.

Archaeological remains of several processes used in cottage industries, which gave way to industrial manufacturing from the late 1800s, may still be seen in local landscapes today.

FBD Trust chairman Michael Berkery notes in a foreword that the book focuses on a much-neglected period in the evolution of Irish agriculture.

It would significantly add to our knowledge and understanding of an embryonic foundation that would, over the next 500 years, develop into today’s modern farming, food and rural countryside.

It is noteworthy that, as well as providing food for two million people in the mid-seventeenth century, the country was also supplying products to export markets, including meat and dairy produce, live cattle, leather and wool.

“What also emerges is the employment opportunities created by these nascent industries in a country where agriculture was the mainstay of the economy.

“Skills were learned, and contemporary knowledge was transferred within these developing industries.

“The RDS, founded in 1731, was to play a progressive role in advocating scientific farming methods and husbandry practices, which all contributed to the ongoing evolution of Irish agriculture and the economy,” he wrote.

Professor Frank O’Mara, Director of Teagasc, wrote that the book shows how interconnected important cottage industries were with agriculture.

They are early examples of a circular bioeconomy and led to the development of some very significant industry sectors.

Some have ebbed over the years (wool and linen), while others, such as butter and alcohol manufacture, are thriving industries in modern Ireland and are very significant export sectors, he added.

Matt Dempsey, Agricultural Trust, described the book as a valuable contribution to a greater understanding of aspects of our agricultural history.

But it should also raise questions as to why our agriculture, in the broadest sense, is so much less diversified than used to be the case.

He wrote in a foreword that Dr Downey and his co-authors have given many examples of previous cottage industries providing substantial income to farm families, which are now almost non-existent.

However, in other cases, previous cottage industries mushroomed into large industrial groups with international markets.