Letter: Unravelling the Aran sweater
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Peter Costello (letter, 18 September) is quite correct in quoting from J. M. Synge's The Aran Islands when he relates that 'the younger men on Aranmore (Inishmore) have adopted the usual fisherman's jersey'.
However, if Mr Costello refers to pages 86/87 of my book Irish Knitting (A & C Black, 1991), the fruit of five years of research into this subject, he would find that Synge's descriptions only go part of the way in unravelling this fascinating Irish textile enigma.
The fisherman's jerseys Synge refers to were actually just the ordinary stocking-stitch garments knitted in handspun bainin or imported navy factory-spun wool worn by seamen all around the Irish and British coasts at the turn of the century. Although bodies could well have been identified from one of these hand-knitted garments, they would not have been the elaborately patterned sweaters for which the Aran islands became famous only after the mid-Thirties.
Liz McCallum (Letters, 14 September) accurately cites the American origins of this 'traditional Irish' craft, although the true story of two homesick Irish women dating from the Irish Atlantic migration at the beginning of this century is, I feel, no less a touching or romantic tale than the 'lost in the mists of time' myth I dispel in my book.
Yours faithfully,
ROHANA DARLINGTON
Poynton, Cheshire
21 September
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments