The success of the Irish linen industry comes from a small plant grown across Europe known as the flax plant. Since it was grown around Europe, it was easy to come across and use to make the products we see today. Today, flax is grown through farming so that it’s always available. Flax was so popular that linen ended up rivaling cotton, and winning.
There are fibers in the inner bark of a flax plant stem. These fibres are what the linen products are made from. The way we get those fibers safely from the plant is through a process called retting.
Retting is when you soak the flax plant in water so the fiber breaks free from the plant. Once retting is completed, the fiber is used to create the Irish linen products that millions around the world love.
For almost all of humanity’s existence, linen has been used in some way to help us. Flax was one of the first plants used to make textiles. This explains why many cultures around the world connect deeply with linen made products.
The oldest tracing of flax fibers was found in 2009, when archeologists discovered flax fibers in the Dzudzuana Cave in Georgia. After their analysis, they saw that these fibers were 30,000 years old!
The thread was seen twisted, spun and even dyed. This shows that humans likely had already seen the benefits of textile and made clothing from it. It also shows they've been growing the plant for thousands of years.
Over 20,000 years later, these flax fibers were then seen in Switzerland in 8000 BC near lake settlements. Linen was used by the settlers to make nets (linen is known to be exceptionally strong)
Linen was such a popular and beautiful textile, that it became a symbol of divinity and status.
Pharaohs dressed themselves up in linen to signify their status. It was said that when the Egyptian gods came to earth, they were dressed in linen. By 4000 BC, linen was being produced on a large scale. Linen was used in Egypt for furniture, sailcloth and even the wrappings used for their dead.
Ancient Romans used linen for their clothing as well. It was so popular with them that its likely that they helped bring it over to what is now Britain in 900 BC and set up factories to produce it. On top of the Romans, Phoenician traders also brought linen to Britain as they were trading Egyptian linen at the time.
This is what set up the British and their use of linen. Linen was used extensively during the Middle Ages. This is where the Irish started using it and created Irish linen.
Irish linen didn’t become popular because the people demanded it. It became popular because of a mix of policies, advancing technology, and the supernatural
The Irish believed that linen came from supernatural beings.
According to tradition, Irish peasants believed that the knowledge of working with flax was introduced by the “dwellers on the Shliabh na Mann” (modern-day Slieve na Mann Mountain).
These mysterious people, known simply as the Mann, were said to be foreigners from a distant land—possibly even the Isle of Man—who taught the local Irish how to cultivate and manage flax and hemp.
The fact that the Irish knew so little about these foreigners only made them think these foreigners were super powered beings.
We’ll never know if they really were.
However, what we do know is that more conventional research suggests that flax was grown in Ireland as far back as 1000 BC.
Archaeological evidence of flax curing—dating back over two thousand years—has been found preserved in bogs across the country.
The Irish loved linen so much that one of the earliest demands of early Irish society was that linen production must be learnt by all.
The Brehon Laws, Ireland’s ancient legal code, made it compulsory for farmers to learn and practice the cultivation of flax.
Linen clothing and vestments are frequently mentioned in early Christian writings, showing that linen was a vital part of both daily life and religious tradition in ancient Ireland.
During the Tudor period, linen production had increased. Flax farming increased greatly and was used so much the government had to get involved.
In 1536, King Henry VIII wrote to the Irish town of Galway ordering that no shirt or garment is to be dyed with saffron.
Also the amount of cloth used in shirts should be limited to five standard ells of fabric (One ell was about 1.14 meters, or 45 inches).
The parliament also had to stop the Irish from retting in the rivers as too much of it was affecting aquatic life since effluent in a high amount was being released in the water.
To become competitive with the English in the wool trade, the Earl of Strafford stepped in. The Earl was the Lord deputy of Ireland and saw Irish Linen to be a great alternative to wool
He sold Irish farmers high quality flax seeds and Dutch equipment to increase production. He also brought European weaving experts to teach the farmers an improved method of making linen.
But the Farmers didn’t want to learn a new method, they preferred their old ways. So the Earl became aggressive with his pursuit, and punished those who wouldn’t listen.
After Strafford, the Duke of Ormonde continued to promote linen production, working alongside the Irish Parliament and focusing particularly on encouraging Protestant farmers.
Over time, productivity improved, especially in the North of Ireland, laying the foundation for further growth driven later by Huguenot immigrants (French Protestants skilled in textile work).
Back over on the wool trade, King Charles II was signing many laws that banned Ireland from selling wool to England or its colonies.
But the Irish quickly adjusted and started selling to the French and Spanish and the Irish wool industry grew more which frightened the English
By late 1600s, King William III and the Westminster Parliament passed a law that stopped Irish wool from being exported anywhere but England and Wales (slowing sales since England also produced wool).
The idea behind this was to stop the wool production and promote the Irish linen industry instead so the English would gain an advantage on wool.
These restrictions devastated the Irish wool trade but boosted the linen industry, particularly in Ulster.
A new law in 1696 had already been passed to encourage linen manufacturing in Ireland, setting the stage for Irish Linen to become a major industry. Especially in Ulster.
In 1696 a new law passed to encourage producing Irish linen
In the early 18th century, Irish linen was allowed duty-free access to England and British colonies in America, helping the industry grow rapidly.
By the end of the century, linen made up about half of Ireland’s total exports.
Much of this trade originally passed through the port of Chester, but by the mid-1700s, Liverpool became the main shipping hub for Irish linen
After Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, many Huguenots (French Protestants) fled to the British Isles.
One of them was Louis Crommelin, a skilled fine linen weaver from the town of Cambrai.
Although linen production already existed in Ulster, Crommelin improved weaving techniques and quality standards.
His success led to the creation of the Board of Trustees of the Linen Manufacturers of Ireland in 1711, which for over a century (1711–1823) nurtured and regulated the industry.
The high standards established during this period helped give Irish linen its world-renowned reputation for quality.
For centuries, linen dominated clothing, home furnishings, and industrial fabrics like sailcloth.
However, by the mid-18th century, the rise of cotton plantations in North America brought vast amounts of cheap cotton into Europe and North America.
This influx, combined with overproduction of linen, triggered a serious downturn in the linen trade during the 1770s.
Another challenge was mechanical spinning.
While cotton spinning machines advanced rapidly, flax spinning lagged behind.
In Ireland, however, many manufacturers saw little advantage in adopting expensive machines.
Women spinning yarn at home remained cheaper and more flexible, especially for finer linen products.
At the same time, improvements like Thomas Turner’s upgraded spinning wheel in 1764 allowed children to spin finer yarns faster at home, helping sustain traditional methods.
Ireland gained more commercial freedom in the 1780s, but the 1798 Rebellion disrupted trade and caused exports to fall.
Despite the turmoil, the problems were temporary.
The century closed with the Act of Union between England and Ireland, uniting the two countries under one Parliament.
While political opinions were divided, the Union ultimately resulted in greater commercial freedoms for Irish linen manufacturers.
In 1810, during the Continental System (Napoleon’s effort to block British trade), Napoleon I offered a reward of one million francs to anyone who could invent machinery to spin flax yarn and reduce Europe’s dependence on British cotton.
Within weeks, Philippe Henri de Girard patented flax-spinning frames for both dry and wet spinning methods in France.
However, Girard’s designs were sold under questionable circumstances to an English merchant, Horace Hall, who patented them in England in 1814.
The designs were picked up by Robert Busk in Leeds, but the venture ultimately failed.
Despite Girard’s innovations, he never achieved commercial success and spent the rest of his life moving between Austria and Poland, where he set up mills without major breakthroughs.
His work was only recognized after his death, when his descendants received a small pension from the French government.
It wasn’t until 1824 that flax spinning became commercially viable in the British Isles.
James Kay, from Lancashire, developed a successful wet spinning process for flax, based loosely on Arkwright’s 1769 spinning frame.
Kay discovered that soaking flax fibers in hot water (a process called maceration) made it easier to draw them into fine yarns using steam-powered machines.
He also improved the machine design by reducing the distance between the rollers, creating a smoother spin.
However, Kay’s patent faced legal challenges.
John Marshall, a mill owner in Leeds, disputed the validity of Kay’s patent, arguing that parts of the invention were either not new or not useful.
In 1839, the court ruled against Kay, declaring his patent invalid because it combined one idea that wasn’t new (the spinning method) with another that wasn’t practically useful (the maceration process).
Kay’s appeal failed in 1841, but despite the legal setbacks, his innovations helped advance flax spinning technology across the British Isles.
"Kays patent included two distinct specifications, one referring to the maceration of the rove, which was held to be novel, the other referring to the contraction of the reach between the drawing and retaining rollers on the spinning frame to a precise 2.5 inches. The latter stipulation was challenged as being an infringement of an earlier spinning system designed by Philippe de Girard (British patent No. 3855 of 1814) and led to the invalidating of the entire patent of 1825. Despite this Kay was without question the originator of the wet spinning process, though this was automatically released to the entire flax-spinning industry by the legal invalidating of his patent"
It was James Kay who successfully introduced it to the industry and made it widely accepted.
Kay’s innovation became a turning point for linen production, allowing manufacturers to spin finer, more consistent, and higher-quality yarns in much larger quantities.
Before Kay’s invention in 1825, the finest machine-spun linen yarn was 40 lea (a measure of fineness).
After wet spinning, yarns as fine as 200 lea could be spun—better in quality than hand-spun yarn, and requiring far less skill to produce.
Kay also recognized the commercial advantage of flax spinning.
At the time:
Flax, on the other hand, cost 6 pence per pound, but when spun was worth 4 shillings—an 800% increase in value.
Because of these improvements, history has largely credited James Kay with the invention that revolutionized linen spinning in the British Isles.
However, in December 1826, shortly after Kay’s patent, Philippe Henri de Girard (the earlier French inventor) wrote to the editor of The Manchester Guardian to assert his role in the development of flax spinning technology:
"Sir:- I beg to submit to the flax-spinners of this country a few observations, which , I believe, will be highly interesting to them or, at least, will correct a misrepresentation that has been made, and render the merit of an important improvement to the real inventor.
A few months ago, a gentleman of the name of Kay, excited a strong sensation in the trade, by announcing a new method of spinning flax, by which much finer and better yarn was produced, than by any other process previously adopted. He announced this invention not only as new, but as his own the results of his experiments were published in many provincial and London papers and he granted to several flax-spinners, the right of using his invention, for which he obtained a patent.
The public will now hear, perhaps with some astonishment, that all this noise was made for a discovery long since published on the continent, and even patented in England twelve years ago. This new process of spinning, announced by Mr. Kay, is the same which I invented fourteen years since, and which is established, with great success, in France, Saxony, and Germany. A patent was taken out in England, in the month of May, 1815, by my partners in Paris, Messers. Cachard and Lanthois, in the name of Mr. Horace Hall.
In this patent is clearly described the principle of reducing the flax to its elementary fibres, by dissolving or moistening the glutinous matter which unites them. The merit of this discovery belongs to me: and the right of using it in England, to Mr. Horace Hall, if any but certainly neither of them to Mr.Kay.
This gentleman proposes a solution of potash for separation of the fibres. This was my first process, specified in my patent in France, with another much preferable to this. I have spoken of the solutions of potash, soda, or soap, in my patent, only to prevent the imitators from invading my rights by resorting to the use of those solutions but a much better method will be found in my explanation and drawings, attached to the patent of Mr. Horace Hall.
The yarns produced from my flax-spinning manufactory can be seen on applying to me, and got from my manufactory, at Hirtenberg, near Vienna: or at that of Messers. Kraus and Brother, at Schemnitz, in Saxony, who several years ago, adopted my principle of spinning. The superiority of my process will be evident, when it is stated that we spin commonly 120 leas to the pound, while the first spinners in Leeds do not exceed 42, except as experiments.
Why spinners of Leeds have not taken notice of this important part of my inventions, whilst they adopted, with great advantage, the other parts of them, described in the same patent of Mr. Horace Hall, is difficult to explain on any other ground than that, owing to its extreme difference from the usual practice, they doubted of its efficacy: or thought that such a decomposition as it causes would alter the strength of the yarn, which is by no means the case: on the contrary, my yarn has always more strength now than the common yarn because the fibres are more perfectly parallel together.
The part of my invention that I alluded to, and which has given to the flax-spinner of England the means of making the first improvements in their old process was this, of reducing the flax into rovings, by drawing it through endless chains and combs, which the flax spinners have adopted these ten years, and which seems to be the only method for making a regular roving of these substances. I am glad that they are now disposed to adopt the second and important part of my invention, and cannot do less than thank Mr. Kay for having called their attention to it.
Since the taking out of this patent. I have made many further improvements in my method of spinning among others I have invented a machine for combing the flax, much superior to those now used in Leeds also another for making the first slivers, which are made in Leeds by hand, &c. &c.
I shall be ready to afford full information to any persons requiring it, on these new improvements, by applying to me, at the address hereafter. Your most obedt. servt."
PH. DE GIRARD
Care of Messers. Harman and Co. London
Philippe Henri de Girard clearly felt he had been wronged after losing recognition for his flax spinning innovations.
Why Horace Hall (the English merchant who patented Girard’s designs) never defended himself isn’t clear—likely because relations between France and England were still tense following the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).
Up until the 1820s, the Irish linen industry was still largely a domestic, village-based economy, with spinning and weaving done by hand on farms.
The slow adoption of new technology allowed cotton to become fully industrialized before linen.
However, after James Kay developed steam-powered wet spinning in 1825, the Irish flax spinning trade changed almost overnight:
The Irish cotton spinning trade, which had started to grow, was stifled because linen adapted better to the new steam-powered methods.
There’s a historical irony here: although cotton became the flagship industry of the Industrial Revolution (being the first fabric fully mechanized), it wasn’t mechanized at all before 1750.
Meanwhile, linen production had already adapted water-powered mills for processes like scutching, washing, and beetling as early as the late 17th century.
Still, the Irish economy faced serious disadvantages:
Without tariffs, Irish industries had to compete directly against England’s cheaper, mass-produced goods.
Ireland’s lack of coal and iron further handicapped industrial growth.
As transportation improved, Britain’s dominance of the Irish market only grew stronger.
Meanwhile, the invention of the spinning jenny by James Hargreaves in the 1770s had earlier encouraged the growth of a small Irish cotton trade, centered mainly in the northeast—an area already skilled in linen production.
The cotton era in Ulster was short-lived.
In the early 1820s, the abolition of protective tariffs exposed the Irish cotton industry to fierce competition from Lancashire, leading to its collapse.
The situation worsened when, in 1828, Mulholland’s—one of the largest cotton mills in Belfast—burned down.
The cotton industry never recovered, but in time, this would prove a blessing for Irish linen.
The Linen Board stepped in to promote linen production, offering government grants of £20,000 per year.
Linen was mainly produced by farming families on small farms:
Men wove cloth during the quieter parts of the farming year.
A family producing Irish Linen
However, the Linen Board failed to properly encourage good flax-growing practices, and Irish flax was of poor quality compared to continental Europe.
When European trade reopened after the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Irish linen struggled to compete against imports from places like Belgium and Bielefeld.
The linen trade only survived because English flax-spinners supported Irish weavers, offering incentives like extended credit to encourage the use of machine-spun flax yarn.
Once Irish weavers realized machine-spun yarn was higher quality and boosted their production, they quickly adopted it.
After their cotton mill burned down, the Mulholland family looked into the booming linen industry.
They observed that Irish flax was being exported to England, machine spun there, and then re-imported to Ireland for weaving.
After visiting northern England and seeing James Kay’s wet spinning process, T. & A. Mulholland set up a small-scale trial in 1828–29.
By 1830, they opened an 8,000-spindle flax-spinning mill in Belfast—the famous York Street Mill.
The project was a huge success.
Other struggling cotton spinners and businessmen quickly followed.
By 1850, linen spinning in Belfast was much larger than cotton spinning.
By 1856, the York Street Mill had 25,000 spindles, making it one of the largest mills in the world, second only to Marshall’s of Leeds.
This industrial concentration in Belfast drove many traditional hand spinners out of business and encouraged weavers to move northeast, closer to the new mills.
The Great Famine in Ireland pushed large industrial mills to reduce reliance on hand-loom weavers.
Improvements in power looms and the development of the Jacquard machine helped transition weaving into large-scale factory production.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), disruptions in cotton supplies caused a “Cotton Famine” in Europe.
Irish linen surged to fill the gap.
The linen industry expanded dramatically, and many companies made enormous profits.
Even after the war ended, the momentum continued into the 1870s.
By then, Belfast had become the largest linen-producing city in the world, earning the nickname “Linenopolis”—the linen capital of the British Empire, just as Manchester was the capital of cotton.
As industrialization grew, working conditions worsened for many mill employees.
Early legislation focused on protecting workers under 18 and reducing working hours.
Despite the hardships, many workers later recalled a sense of camaraderie in the mills, which helped them endure difficult times—and for some, even inspired fond memories of their working days.
As the cotton industry revived and continued to produce low-cost goods, and as the Irish linen industry faced overcapacity, many linen companies began to struggle.
This led to factory closures across Ireland.
The industry fought back by introducing efficiency improvements and new developments, and there was a brief revival in the early 20th century.
However, the rise of man-made and synthetic fibers, combined with rising production costs, made it increasingly difficult for Irish linen manufacturers to compete.
Many older companies were production-focused and intended to keep the craft going.
During World War II and again during the Korean War (1950–1953), the Irish linen industry enjoyed a brief rebirth as linen was in high demand for military and institutional needs.
However, after the wars ended, the industry declined rapidly in its traditional markets.
Cheaper synthetic alternatives reduced the demand for bulk, lower-quality Irish linen used by hotels, hospitals, and other large institutions.
Only top hotels, fine restaurants, and premium airlines continued using high-quality Irish linen to differentiate themselves from cheaper competitors.
However, these niche high-end markets were not enough to sustain the old production levels.
Some sectors, such as tourism and retail, continued to support linen sales, but suppliers had to adapt to niche markets rather than relying on mass production.
Despite these challenges, Irish linen was never fully replaced.
Its brand reputation, comfort, distinctive drape, and unique appearance kept it alive in luxury markets.
Its strong physical properties also ensured a continuing, if smaller, role in industrial textiles.
The trust, quality, and equity built into the Irish Linen brand helped it maintain a presence even as the global textile market changed.
Even with Synthetic fibres around, it would never match the quality authentic Irish Linen had and customers found this out quickly
In the later part of the 20th century, there was a growing backlash against synthetic fibers, particularly after their overuse in fashion during the 1960s.
Efforts to promote linen for apparel gained traction in the 1970s, and by the late 1980s, linen was in general use for high-end fashion across developed countries.
At this point, linen apparel sales began to outpace traditional household and industrial linen sectors—a major shift from how Irish linen had been used historically.
However, there was still work to do in building brand recognition in these new fashion markets.
Irish Linen has made a massive shift into the fashion world
Today, Irish linen is still woven in the traditional regions of Ireland, often by descendants of families who have passed down their skills over hundreds of years.
However, the Irish linen industry is now much smaller than it once was.
Competition for everyday linen products has long been dominated by cheaper goods from low-cost countries, forcing the Irish linen industry to shift its focus to the premium market.
The companies that continue to weave in Ireland today concentrate on quality, craftsmanship, and customization—delivering precisely what discerning customers are looking for.
Today, Thomas Ferguson, part of the Franklin’s Group, is the last Irish linen damask weaver producing traditional household linens in Ireland.
Other manufacturers continue to weave plain apparel linens, but Ferguson stands alone in preserving the damask tradition.
In 2012, the Franklin’s Group expanded further by acquiring the John England brand, a leader in innovative fabrics for the fashion and apparel industries.
Through Ferguson’s expertise, they added Jacquard fabrics to their offerings—a major innovation for Irish linen, and a sign of the industry’s willingness to adapt and evolve.
The future of Irish linen rests on its ability to stay connected to its heritage while meeting the evolving demands of modern consumers.
As long as there are customers who value craftsmanship, quality, and the unique history of Irish linen, this extraordinary fabric will continue to endure and inspire.
