The Aran Sweater
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Sweaters from the Ó'Máille Aran Sweater collection.
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Standing like immortal gatekeepers at
the mouth of Galway Bay are the Aran Islands; three
wind-swept and wave-beaten landmasses that rise from
the sea in a stirring display of towering cliffs, craggy
limestone pillars and crumbling stone walls. The islands
themselves bear the marks of over 5,000 years of human
activity – ranging from a mighty Iron Age fort
to the many religious ruins left by early Christian
settlers. The islands are at once austere and inspiring:
at one time or another, their solitude and location
has drawn those seeking military advantage, artistic
discovery, or spiritual epiphany.
Today, in the tradition of most of the
165 generations that preceded them, the 1300 inhabitants
of the islands continue to speak Irish as their first
language, and their lives remain intimately intertwined
with the earth and the sea. Remarkably, it is a simple
article of clothing – the Aran sweater – that
has brought the eyes of the world to Inishmore, Inishmaan,
and Inisheer, and to the people who call these islands
home.
The Aran sweater, an emblem of both the
Aran Islands and, indeed, of Ireland itself, is a unique
fusion of art and practicality. Perhaps no other sweater
is as immediately recognisable; with its intricate patterns
and handmade ruggedness it has forged a unique place
for itself in the clothing world.
Origin of the Aran Sweater
As it appears today, the Aran sweater
first began to emerge in the early part of the twentieth
century. The events from which the modern Aran arose
from the ashes of earlier and less intricate designs
are often debated, but it is reasonable to assume that
at least one circumstance had a profound effect on the
Aran's evolution.
Aran women had always been knitting fisherman’s
jerseys, or 'ganseys', as islanders call them, to help
their husbands and families weather the often-treacherous
island conditions. However, during the last decade of
the 19th century a government motion to improve the
economic livelihood of densely populated rural areas
began setting up lacemaking, knitting, and crochet schools
around the country. It is reported that artisans were
sent from these schools during the last years of the
19th century to teach Aran women how to knit intricate
patterns. In the years to follow the women of Aran combined
their new skills, artistic brilliance, and the traditions
of life upon the sea to create the sweaters we know
today.
Certainly part of the sweater's success
is due to its mystique. In our age of mass production
the items that we buy, and the very clothes that we
wear cease to have a story. Our daily journeys to work
and school find us amidst the bustle of modern life
where we weave through the tangled noise of automobiles
and armies of mobile phones. The Aran sweater stands
like a monument, reminding us of a time that was simpler,
and often more difficult.
Indeed, the very story of our lives is
woven into the sweater – every stitch has a meaning.
For instance, there is the 'Ladder of Life' stitch,
which symbolizes the pilgrimage to happiness, the 'Tree
of Life' which grants good luck to its wearer, and even
the stitch of 'Marriage Lines' with zigzags that represent
the ups and downs of married life.
For all of us standing apprehensively
at the edge of a new millennium, the story of the Aran
sweater is a beautiful one. For within the sweaters
lies the work of a single person and the struggles,
accomplishments and imagination of generations. And
perhaps, while wearing our sweaters many years from
now, we will be revisited by the pleasant illumination
that sometimes the things we carry with us in life can
be more than the sum of their parts.
Jeremy M. Usher
November 2000
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