Connemara Dressers in Co. Meath

Here is a chat I had in the kitchen of Máirtín agus Kathleen Uí Méalóid from Ráth Chairn, Co. Meath back in May. I shared the photos of the dresser with you back in May but here is a 14 minute film I freshly edited up for Arts Office of Meath County Council last week for their Culture Night programme on Friday. Máirtín is standing beside a dresser made by himself for Kathleen as a wedding present when they got married. He got the tradition and skills from his own father ‘Jimmy Nan’ who made eight dressers in his day in Co. Meath and also back in Connemara. Máirtín and Kathleen were part of the Connemara families that were resettled in Meath in the 1930s and 50s and so with them came the language, the accent, the mannerism, music and songs and in this case they also brought the Connemara dresser design in their heads. The dressers have common west of Ireland features including the feet on the base for balance, the shoulders on the sides and the laths (cipín plátaí) for the plates to rest on. Máirtín tells me that their designs don’t have drawers and are always wide enough to hold six big plates. The tradition of making dressers as wedding presents runs deep here as his father made four dressers for his daughters while Máirtín made one for his own daughter too when she got married. I'll let the man himself tell you more and as you can see at the very end, Máirtín is very proud of what he learned from his father and the people that went before him. Text: Michael Fortune