Library Ireland Homepage

An Arran Islander

"Among the groups gathered at the fish market or clustering around Galway Harbour, the stranger will occasionally see men dressed like the one depicted in the engraving. He exhibits a facial type not common in the crowd, he wears very distinctive knee-breeches or knickerbockers, and his shoes, technically known as pampootas, are made of untanned cowhide with the hair left on, cut low at the sides, with a narrow pointed piece to cover the toes. It is said that experience has proved that such shoes or sandals as these are best suited for the rocky soil such men have to tread. And when the stranger, his curiosity aroused, desires to know whence these men come, he discovers that they are from the Arran Islands. These are three rocky islands lying off the mouth of Galway Bay, abounding in ruins of the most remarkable kind, and inhabited by a simple and kindly race of peasant fishermen. To describe in any detail the noted ruins upon these islands would require a small volume. The most famous is known as Dun Aengus. It is a massive stone fort built in prehistoric times upon the very verge of the western cliff of Inishmore, the largest of the group. It is generally conceded that this represents one of the last strongholds defended by the original inhabitants of Ireland, and is supposed to date from about the first century A.D. A steamer runs regularly to these islands, and they are full of interest both to the antiquary, and to the tourist who ever yearns for 'fresh fields and pastures new.'"

From Irish Pictures drawn with Pen and Pencil, by Richard Lovett, 1888.

Other pages featuring Irish dress

Enter your search terms

Submit search form