Supported by The Arts Council of Ireland Agility Award, ‘The Lost Looms’ project engages the processes of survey, photography, architectural hand-drawing and writing to create a visual and written record of the traditional Donegal floor loom, a piece of equipment that is increasingly scarce on this island. This is an activity proposed not only in the interest of heritage preservation, but in the empowerment of the future of traditional handweaving in Ireland, and a technical understanding of the associated equipment required for its continuity.

Within the context of a modern world of mass consumption, the traditional floor loom and production of Donegal tweed has been in decline since the 1970’s, with the average handweaver in Ireland today being 75 years old. The remaining Donegal handweavers are a wealth of knowledge, however there is little written or drawn record of the design, assembly, or construction of Donegal floor looms. With a limited and aging population of craftspeople, it is of utmost importance to draw on their spoken and unrecorded insights – soon-to-be lost words and phrases, and nuances in weaving.

Furthermore, the lesser-used Irish language words are of huge cultural significance, with hyper-specific definitions and dual meanings that are endlessly fascinating and lend an invigorating insight into the ways of a past island life. As an Irish speaker, the element of language and writing will be as prevalent in this recording as drawing and photography.