Limerick lace – a particular style of embroidery on machine-made net- originated in Limerick in 1829. Limerick lace is still made today by in Limerick and elsewhere, but there is limited public awareness on this craft locally.

Friends of Lace Limerick is a volunteer group formed in 2017. The main aims of the group are to celebrate Limerick’s history of lace making, to support the development of lace-making skills, engaging with the local community to promote the tradition of Limerick Lace, and contributing positively to Limerick’s cultural landscape, highlighting the city as a  lace making place in the past and in the present, and as a tourism destination. 

Every square inch of lace takes skill and hours of work to create. The majority of contemporary lacemakers focus on creating family heirlooms and pieces for display that are rarely exhibited publicly.

In the last ten years, digital image processing and digital fabrication have been used worldwide by lacemakers and artists to create new lacemaking tools, public installations and lace-inspired artefacts.

Training lacemakers and artists for using digital fabrication in Fablab Limerick will provide them with the necessary understanding and skills to use digital image processing, 3D printing and laser-cutting in their creative work. This will be complemented with two artist-led brainstorming workshops to explore new ideas for installations, small gifts and collaborations between artists and lacemakers. 

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.