Eriu
Der Name Eriu leitet sich ab von der Schutzgöttin der irischen Mythologie; sie gilt als Personifikation Irlands. Der Name Eire (Irland) leitet sich direkt von ihr ab; Irland ist somit eine Kombination aus Eriu und Land.
Allein diese Namensgebung zeigt die tiefe Verwurzelung des sehr jungen Betriebes in ihr Land.
Hier schreibt Eriu selber über die sehr erstaunliche Geschichte ihres Labels::
ÉRIU - WHAT WE DO……
• Ériu Yarn is the only yarn made from 100% Irish wool.
• We blend 75% Bluefaced Leicester (for so-ness, drape, and lustre) with 25%
Romney (for structure and s8tch defini8on). A yarn that’s perfect for next-to-
skin comfort and beau8fully defined s8tches.
• Every fleece is hand-sourced from our farm in the Wicklow Mountains and
through our Farm to Yarn network we set up across Ireland.
• We pay our farmers over 10x the industry rate—incen8vizing them to once
again raise high-quality Irish wool.
• All of our partner farms are small, family-run operaPons. We visit each one
personally. They prac8ce regeneraPve farming, uphold high ethical
standards, and never use mulesing.
• Ireland’s wool industry was decimated aRer the 1960s and historically
suppressed during Bri8sh coloniza8on—despite our rich heritage in wool
produc8on and Aran knitwear design.
• Once, every Irish county had its own Woollen Mill around which community
was strengthened. Today, only three remain, and all import cheap merino
wool. No Aran sweater or Irish wool blanket is made from Irish wool
anymore.
• Sheep farming is in crisis: wool prices have collapsed, young farmers are
leaving the industry, and naPve breeds have gone exPnct. Ériu is reversing
this trend through our Farm to Yarn network.
• This year, we will open our own Woollen Mill—the first in Ireland to spin Irish
wool in decades—reclaiming our ancient legacy and giving life back to this
vital heritage.
HOW WE STARTED….
• Ten years ago, Zoë’s grandmother Kitsy hand-kniTed her a wool baby blanket.
It was perfect—and Zoë became uTerly obsessed with it.
• She set out to recreate it with Irish wool… only to discover that the original
was knit with imported merino, and that Irish wool had vanished from the
shelves.
• Curious (and stubborn), she began to dig. What she found was heartbreaking:
Irish wool was being exported as “worthless,” while the tex8le industry in
Ireland imported everything it used.
• As she uncovered the story, she fell completely in love with it—under the spell
of it, as the Irish phrase goes. It became her mission.
• She didn’t believe Irish wool was worthless. She began collec8ng fleeces from
a few small farms s8ll raising pedigree naPve breeds.
• With no Irish mill able to spin Irish wool anymore, she sent it to the UK. What
came back was so-, strong, and full of soul. She knew it was worth fighPng
for.
• A-er a divorce and a moment where she nearly gave up on it all, she met
Lionel—a sheep farmer, businessman, and the perfect partner in wool and
life.
• Three years ago, they founded Ériu—and had a baby the very same year. This
year, they’re geZng married.
• Ériu is named a-er Ireland’s patron goddess, the goddess of fer8lity,
sovereignty, and abundance of the land—everything Irish wool means to us.
• Éire, the Irish word for Ireland, is derived from her name. And now, so is ours.
