A renowned Aran knitwear store that has operated in Galway City for the last 86 years is set to close its doors for good at the end of April.
Siopa Uí Mháille, which was first opened by Pádraig Ó Máille on Dominick Street in 1938, has since moved to the other side of the River Corrib, establishing itself as a local institution on High Street.
Boasting a bright yellow exterior, the shop has become a landmark for tourists and locals alike. It is equally renowned for its hand-knitted and high-quality garments made in the traditional Aran knitting style.
It gained international recognition in the 1950s when Hollywood came to Irish shores in the form of "The Quiet Man", starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
Siopa Uí Mháille was tasked with making the outfits for the famous movie, giving it celebrity status.
Today, a photograph of John Wayne and other cast members still hangs on the wall of the famous shop.
Ó Máille's nephew Ger has run the shop for the past 50 years alongside his wife Anne.
Anne, an avid knitter, has worked closely with women from Connemara, the Aran Islands, West Clare, and North Mayo to source clothing for the shop over the past half-century.
A world-renowned Aran knitwear shop and one of the oldest family-run businesses in Galway city is to close its doors for good at the end of the month in what locals describe as the "end of an era"https://t.co/gQcyMw7UXF
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 15, 2024
She told RTÉ News that she believes the traditional style of Aran knitting is dying out and that the tradition will be lost when those women are gone.
She said she has begged her daughters to learn the skills that she has cultivated but added that they have shown no interest in the tradition.
Anne told RTÉ that she is sad to be closing for good but that she and her husband are both exhausted from running the business for the last 50 years.
"We just loved wool, and we love the idea of goods that are made locally and made well, by people who are passionate about what they do," she told RTÉ.
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