Galway Shawls

"This is just one item from my Galway Shawl collection. I have three brown ones and a red petticoat. I bought this one in the 1960s from Mrs Elwoods’ Pawn Shop on Quay Street in Galway when I was a young woman. The shawl was probably made around the turn of the century and I believe many of these were actually produced in Paisley in Scotland. I have always had a love and fascination of the past and I have memories of donkeys and carts passing by our window on the way to market and the women selling eggs and wearing beautiful shawls like these. For me, they illustrate a unique aspect of our heritage specific to the west of Ireland and represent the Galway I love. When I hold these shawls, I think of the strong, confident Claddagh women who wore them as they sold fish and produce at the markets in order to look after their families."