In 1783, a man cutting turf in Co Longford found an old woollen coat deep in the bog. In time, the writings of his daughter, Maria Edgeworth, became hugely influential in documenting and explaining Irish life and helped to get an Irish romantic literature up on its feet. Those notes themselves often insinuate historical information via ordinary objects, as in the opening of Maria Edgeworth’s Castle Rackrent (1800), a landmark achievement of Irish romanticism. Forms of coarse cloth were produced across the country, with some regional variations, as part of an 18th-century Irish woollen industry that was largely rural and domestic. Irish Romanticism: a Literary History by Claire Connolly is published by Cambridge University Press.

Source: The Irish Times January 04, 2026 13:30 UTC