\In 2025, Ireland is finally beginning to recognise Traveller culture as part of the nation’s living heritage - not just a history of hardship, but a legacy of creativity, storytelling, resilience, and style.
At Shuttleknit, we believe Traveller women have always been custodians of culture, but their voices have too often been left out of the heritage conversation.
That’s why, on National Heritage Week we’re launching Woven Truths, a powerful new project that invites us to explore, reclaim, and express our heritage through textiles, design, storytelling, and connection to the land. #NationalHeritageWeek #nationalheritageweek2025
This isn’t just about craft. It’s about building pride, cultural confidence, and new opportunities - helping a creative team of Traveller women at Shuttleknit rediscover the value of their traditions and turn them into bold, beautiful products that tell a story.
Last week, we kicked things off with a powerful visit to Kiloughter Graveyard, guided by Community Archaeologist Yvonne Witty. We wandered among 17th-century headstones, listening to Yvonne. She showed us how stone masons (the undervalued artists of their time) embedded meaning in every symbol and pattern they carved. The angels and love hearts in particular deeply resonated with our team. It felt like a conversation across centuries.
Patricia Shields
Through Woven Truths, we’ll be:
🧶 Working with designers to learn new knit and textile techniques
📚 Exploring Wicklow’s archives and oral histories
🪡 Creating bold new products in fashion and interiors, inspired by our unique heritage
🌾 Reconnecting with nature and the land that shaped our communities
🗣️ And sharing stories of Traveller life, memory, and design through our social media
A huge thanks to Deirdre Burns, Heritage Officer at Wicklow County Council, for believing in this vision and making it happen.
This project is co-funded by The Heritage Office of Wicklow County Council and The Heritage Council as an action of the County Heritage Plan.
#WovenTruths #TravellerHeritage #LivingCulture #TravellerWomen #Shuttleknit #TravellerDesign #HeritageWeek2025 #WicklowHeritage
