Illustration: Irish needlepoint lace cuff for a rochet, 1887.
1887 saw the jubilee to celebrate fifty years since the ordination of Pope Leo XIII. A number of communities and organizations within the Catholic world celebrated in various forms and Ireland was no different.
A competition was arranged whereby schools of art across Ireland would produce original design work that would go towards the making of lace trimming for the altar cloth within the Pope's private chapel, as well as lace edging for the Pope's rochet.
Illustration: Irish needlepoint lace cuff for a rochet, 1887.
Eventually seventeen educational institutions competed for the design prize. First prize eventually went to the class attached to the Convent of Poor Clares at Kenmare, second prize went to Emily Barney a student at Dublin's Metropolitan School of Art, and third prize went to Emily Anderson a student at the Cork School of Art.
The design work produced by the students at Kenmare was universally praised by Irish critics and bishops alike and was without a doubt the most accomplished entry. The students design work was sent to the Presentation Convent in Youghal where it was to be crafted by women and girls who had been trained within the convent. Youghal had an envious reputation in Ireland as an area that had produced a consistent supply of high standard hand lace production that had helped to secure a place for Ireland within the world of hand produced lace.
Illustration: Irish needlepoint lace trimming for an altarcloth, 1887.
The themes of the lace design work were typical for religious use and a number of motifs and devices were used to both celebrate the Catholic Church and the church in Ireland with the use of motifs that were Irish in origin such as the shamrock. More specifically still were motifs that designated the work as being part of the celebration of the Jubilee of Pope Leo XIII and so therefore personal to the Pope.
It is often said that one of the main reasons that hand lace production faired so well within Catholic Europe and for so long, was the network of convents, which taught generations of local girls various textile skills, including those needed for competent lace production. To some extent this is also true for Ireland and probably without the convent system the lace produced for the Pope's Jubilee might well have struggled in producing the high standard shown in these examples.
Illustration: Irish needlepoint lace border for a rochet, 1887.
It is unclear what happened to these Irish lace pieces after their presentation and use within the Vatican. It is hoped that they may still be seen within the Vatican, or at least stored safely as they are an important piece of Irish craft, social and religious history.
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