Irish Pottery

In Irish Encounter, Ellen is drawn toward the Irish pottery she sees in downtown Galway.  (Spoiler alert) In fact, Payne buys a pitcher for her as a surprise.

Ellen isn’t me, but we do share a love of Irish pottery. I’ve collected pieces on all our trips. When I Googled Irish Pottery for this blog, I was surprised to see Beleek listed on the same page. I consider it finer than pottery, more like porcelain. We have a few pieces that Kevin inherited.

Picture of creamer and sugar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some we bought for the babies we left back home during our 1993 trip (I still can’t believe we left a toddler and infant with grandparents for ten days!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the Irish pottery I’m writing about today is a little more earthy.

During our first home exchange in 2000, I explored Galway and discovered Judy Greene Pottery. This little vase shows her beautiful Blue Bell design. I’d love to have a whole dining set of that pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we moved down to Bandon in County Cork. I picked up these pieces there:

 

 

 

 

 

 

One afternoon, we found Jagoes Mill Pottery and stopped in. Irene Gahan Ryle greeted us with warm Irish hospitality and a slab of clay for each of our children. They created while she shared about the surrounding communities, places we couldn’t miss. I love this creamer with no handle. Rather, it’s pinched in the center, a perfect place for fingers. The design is a fushia blossom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a plucky rooster that’s survived a drop to the floor. Can you see the cracks on his tail feathers? We found this guy at Animal-Craft Pottery in Kilbrittain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also found a honey pot at Rossmore Pottery in Clonakilty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I’m the collector, I suggested to my young daughters that they might like these pieces from Courtmacsherry Ceramics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our next trip in 2007, we stopped in at Geoffrey Healy’s studio. We enjoyed a chat with the artist. He was excited to learn we lived in North Carolina and knew much more about the Seagrove, NC potters than we did, although I do own a few of the local pieces and add to my collection every year at our state fair.

Here’s my lovely pitcher from the Healy collection:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you enjoy pottery? Do you collect pieces? Or do you collect other items?