McKernan Woolen Mills
Tuamgraney, Co. Clare
Fine Shawls and Scarves from Tuamgraney, Co. Clare
At their mill one hour from Limerick in Tuamgraney, Co. Clare, Eugene and Anke McKernan weave and knit expressively colourful shawls and scarves as surprising as they are beautiful. Attentive to unexpected colour relationships and floral and abstract patterning, they bring a finely tuned colour sense and exacting technical control to luxurious yarns, arranging them into finely graded sequences and developing reversible woven structures on restored Hattersley looms alongside intricate jacquard, lace and textured patterns on state-of-the-art knitting machines. Since founding McKernan Woollen Mills in _____, Eugene and Anke have grown the workshop from one small combined office and mill into a small compound taking up both sides of the main road in Tuamgraney, housing a shop for contemporary European design, a light-filled cafe (with delicious and generously portioned lunch fare), a visitors center, and work spaces that employ dozens of skilled craftspeople. Their scarves have earned an international reputation through _____, longstanding relationships with independent shops and museum stores, and bespoke commissions for _____.
Our Scarves and Shawls
“You never know what you're gonna get. I want every scarf to tell a story. No matter who wears it or what they're wearing it with, it brings distinction and a sense of flair to any outfit. We designed it that way. And it's our gift from our little town to you.”
Our Scarves and Shawls
Interview with Eugene
Every piece begins with a conversation between material and maker—a rhythm of hand and tool passed down through generations.
Five photographs with Eugene McKernan
1. Eugene and Anke outside the house in Tuamgraney where McKernan Woollen Mills began
### 2. Eugene and Anke weaving beside their new baby
**Eugene:** See that loom? It arrived broken. We had no idea.
The next thing that happened after this photograph was taken was that we tried to take the cloth off. The loom wouldn’t release the yarn. We had woven the whole thing and then discovered we couldn’t get it out.
That’s how you learn. You can read about a machine or have someone explain it to you, but when it holds on to several weeks of your work, you learn very quickly.
**What was harder: starting the business or raising a family?**
It all blurs together because we did both at the same time. The children grew up around the machines, the yarn, the orders and whatever problem had to be fixed that day.
So far, so good. They’re all still speaking to us.
### 3. Eugene and his children repairing a collapsed roof
**Eugene:** That’s the building next door. We got it for a good price, which was fortunate because the roof had caved in.
It had been a barracks and later a prison. You can still see where the bars were embedded in some of the windows. Inside, there was an old kitchen and all sorts of strange architecture left over from soldiers and prisoners.
We enjoyed fixing it up. The children were involved, as you can see. Today it’s the shop, and it has become a lovely place. We sell our own work there alongside contemporary European design.
A building can move through a lot of lives. Barracks, prison, collapsed roof, children climbing over it with tools, and now people come in looking for scarves.
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### 4. Eugene and Anke in a European city, with Eugene wearing a Cosmo scarf
**Where was this taken?**
Prague, I think. It could have been Vienna, but I’m fairly sure it was Prague. We were there for a trade fair looking at weaving machinery, and we ended up buying our first knitting machine.
That’s one of our Cosmo scarves. It’s quite unisex, though where I grew up in the Liberties, a scarf with that much colour might not have been regarded as terribly masculine.
People generally leave me alone once I look them in the eye.
Europeans have a different attitude to gender and clothes. Men are happier to wear colour. I wish more Irish men would buy the brighter scarves. Why wouldn’t you? You only live once. You might as well wear something that gives you a bit of pleasure.
### 5. The view from the café into McKernan’s colourful back garden
**What comes next for McKernan?**
How could I know?
We would like to hold more events here, especially in the café and the garden. Music, performances, gatherings around Christmas—things that give people another reason to come and spend time here.
The strange thing is that the story feels as though it is only beginning. That’s a mad thing for a man my age to say, but I’m optimistic. People seem to enjoy coming here, and there are still plenty of things we could try.
The coffee is very good as well. And the cakes. Good cakes matter.
We were living in Germany. That’s where Anke and I met. At the time, the German government had a scheme where they would pay foreigners to leave, so they paid us to go. That helped get us here.
We took the lease on this place, Anke was six months pregnant, and we found a great weaving machine going cheap. I’d say our main thought was: how have we managed to get ourselves into this mess?
You could see some possibility in it, though. We had the machine, we had the house, and we knew we wanted to make something of our own. After that, you just keep going because there is no great alternative.
“It's all relative”
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