Episode 2 of 6 – Hand Weaver Monday May 4th 8:30pm
RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
HAND WEAVER
Short: Beth Moran came to Clare Island from the USA as a young photographer and never left. Decades later, she is one of Ireland’s most distinctive handweavers – and the island is still in every thread she makes. Her best friend’s son has relocated to Brussels for a job in politics and she’s decided to make him one of signature carpets so he can have “little piece of Clare island” in the heart of Europe.
Long: Beth Moran arrived on Clare Island as a young photographer, when the island still had no electricity or running water. She stayed in the lighthouse, helped a farmer down the road, fell in love with his son Máirtín, and never went home. A weaver who visited the island taught Beth and her friend Anna Gill to weave. At the end of the visit, Beth bought the loom. She never stopped.
For decades, Máirtín supported her work – rearing and shearing the sheep, setting aside the best fleeces for her. Since his death, their son Donal has taken on that role. Beth’s speciality is the traditional Clare Island carpet, woven from the wool of local mountain sheep and coloured with dyes made from botanicals foraged on the island.
In this episode, she weaves a carpet for Olof Gill – Anna’s son, whom Beth once babysat in the lighthouse when he was two, and who has just moved for a big job in Brussels with his young family and a new baby.
Donal shears the sheep and Beth transforms the wool into her signature Clare Island carpets. The loom, she says, is like an organ – and she plays it beautifully and like any musical instrument, it keeps her company, especially while she weaves away the hours. Will her “little piece of Clare Island” make a proud expat feel that little bit closer to home?
Series Overview
Masters: Keepers of Tradition is a documentary series focusing on Irish practitioners of rare, traditional, and remarkable crafts and skills. It is inspired by the iconic series Hands, which first aired on RTÉ in the late 70’s and gave us a powerful insight into the lives and work of Irish craftspeople. The goal of this series is to bring contemporary artisans back into the public consciousness, while also shedding light on the current state of the craft community in Ireland.
This landmark series, made with the support of The Heritage Council and Coimisiún na Meán, aims to champion local master craftpeople, showcase their skills and trades, and show how they have endured and diversified since the series Hands finished. It aims to inspire the next generation of makers to take up the mantle and keep these trades alive in the 21st century.
Each episode will focus on one Irish craftsperson and their craft. But more than delivering a one-dimensional demo of the work they do, we’ll also delve into the person they are, their motivations, the family and neighbours who influenced them, and, of course, their physical environs. In each episode, we will follow the creative process as our artisan takes on a local commission and witness how it affects them and the commissioner when it’s finished. We want our viewers to see that artisanal excellence doesn’t just happen in the abstract; it happens here and now, in the real world, and that their dedication, expertise, and passion enrich our society.
Our six craftspeople are: a stonemason, a basket weaver, a handweaver, a clockmaker, a thatcher, and a blacksmith.
