glass

glass was a minor industry until 1780, when restrictions on Irish exports were removed (see free trade agitation), and a duty imposed on glass manufacture in Great Britain was not imposed in Ireland. This led to a period of pronounced growth with glasshouses being established in Dublin, Cork, Ballycastle, Drumrea, Belfast, Waterford, Newry, and Derry. By 1785 there were nine glasshouses in Ireland; six were for flint glass, two for bottles, and one for window glass. Three‐quarters of the workers in these houses came from England, bringing with them new techniques. The industry produced predominately for the home market, displacing British imports. Output increased and the number of glasshouses rose to eleven by 1825, Dublin dominating the industry.

Glass designs in Ireland tended to mirror those produced by English factories according to the fashion of the day. This has led to some confusion over attributing glass pieces to a particular factory. The idea that Irish glass has a certain colour or that it has a different ring when struck is totally inaccurate. Some decanters, finger bowls, and jugs, however, have impressed factory marks on the base giving a firm attribution, although recently decanters bearing spurious Cork marks have come on the market. Genuine marks that occur on Irish glass include ‘B. Edwards Belfast’, ‘Cork Glass Co.’, ‘Penrose Waterford’, ‘Francis Collins Dublin’, ‘Mary Carter & Son’, and ‘Waterloo Co. Cork’. Some designs, such as the turnover rim bowl, the canoe shaped bowl, and the piggin, do seem to have been made predominately by Irish glasshouses. The heavy cut decoration normally associated with Irish glass was a later phenomenon, when steam‐driven cutting machines were introduced into the factories c.1820. Earlier Irish glass had much shallower cut designs, giving the pieces a lighter and more delicate appearance.

The imposition of excise duty on Irish glass from 1825 signalled the start of a decrease in production. The number of glasshouses fell from ten in 1832 to six by 1835, and only three (flint glasshouses in Dublin and Belfast, and a bottle works in Dublin) by 1852. The craft‐based Irish industry was steadily undermined by cheaper mass produced goods from larger English glasshouses which utilized machinery to a greater degree. Gatchell's of Waterford (the most prestigious works) closed in 1851. The Pugh brothers maintained the production of flint glass in Dublin between 1854 and 1893, but their craft‐based concern was unable to survive against British and continental competition. With the closure of the works in 1893, the only type of glass which continued to be manufactured was bottles in Dublin and Belfast.

Table glass manufacture in Ireland was revived in 1951 when the Waterford factory was reopened. The success of the modern heavy cut glass produced by Waterford Crystal has led to other glasshouses being established, including the lead crystal factories at Cavan in 1969, and Tyrone in 1970. As with ceramics in Ireland, there has been a growth in the rise of individual studio glassmakers in recent years. Simon Pearce was one of the first in 1972 to set up a workshop for blowing studio glass in Co. Kilkenny. He was followed by Keith Leadbetter, who set up Jerpoint glass in 1978.

Bibliography

Boydell, M. , Irish Glass (1976)
Warren, P. , Irish Glass (1981)
Westropp, D. , Irish Glass (1920; 2nd edn., ed. M. Boydell, 1978)

Andrew Bielenberg/ and Kim Mawhinney