Great exhibitions in Ireland and their influence on Irish crafts and design
Muireann Charleton, Design Lecturer, Atlantic Technological University Sligo, examines the significance of exhibitions of Irish design to our understanding of the history of Irish design. Notions of improving taste and generating design awareness among the Irish offers a continuity in the period since the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1853. Through design exhibitions there was a desire to foster value in the economic opportunity of Irish-made goods and to utilise traditional materials and processes. This paper explores a tension between displaying existing traditional forms of hand-crafted making and the push for industrial progress in exhibitions of Irish industry from the 1853 Great Industrial Exhibition to the present day.