Kilkenny man wins Lifetime Achievement Award at Irish Made Awards

The Cushen family of Cushendale are the custodians of a unique woollen mill that has stood in the picturesque village of Graignamanagh for over 800 years. The family have been immersed in woollen textile manufacturing since the 18th century and are very aware of the heritage of their enterprise. They appreciate that every day that they walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.

Bearing in mind this legacy, it is apt that Philip Cushen of Cushendale last week won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Irish Made Awards organised by Irish Country Magazine. 

Commenting on his award, Philip Cushen modestly says: “It was a surprise, a pleasant surprise.”  The survival of Cushendale is a testament to their products but Philip also says: “A lot of it is luck - sometimes you make the right decision.” 

Six generations of the Cushen family, have crafted textiles in Graignamanagh. spinning yarn and weaving blankets, they have forged an enviable reputation and set the standard for the excellence preserved under the eye of Philip Cushen and now his daughter Miriam and her husband Trevor.  

As part of the first settlement of Cisterician monks in Graignamanagh, a mill was constructed adjacent to the abbey on higher ground, the site of Cushen mill. Today Cushendale and Graignamanagh are part of the World Crafts Council designated Craft City and Region, one of only four regions in Europe. The preservation of the historic mill race which supplies the water to Cushendale is, Philip says, ‘an important thing’. 

Philip attributes the success of Cushendale to a combination of factors, but says that things ‘changed dramatically’ when they got involved with what was then Kilkenny Design Workshop back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. This government sponsored initiative sought to improve the standard of design in domestic craft and manufacturing via the input of international designers, many of them Scandinavian. Their input helped to modernise and improve the product made by Cushendale, so that they began to reflect the influence of designers like Mary Quant who was popularising vibrant and unusual colour combinations. 

With this new perspective as Philip observes, the ‘future opened up’ as the company made themselves ‘open to new ideas or products’. Now Cushendale shows at international fairs such as Shoppe Object in New York as well as at Showcase in Dublin. They also export to the USA, Japan and South Korea. 

Philip simply says: “You’re as good as your product.”  

Being small is also an advantage. Philip notes: “We were small enough to change.” In the past Cushendale had five or six people working with them, today its workforce is nine. 

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Wool is the basis of Cushendale’s beautifully crafted product. It’s a material anchored in history yet very appropriate for a modern world now focused on sustainability. Through Cushendale’s deep-rooted knowledge and passion they create textiles that last for generations. They are a totally vertical operation which means that they dye, spin, weave and finish all their products onsite.  

They are known for their vivid and intense colour palette which Philip credits to the water in Graignamanagh which runs off granite and shale stone and is very pure without any lime or tannins. As a result all dyes remain very bright and true to colour in the finished products. 

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Cushendale pieces last a very long time. They themselves have blankets that are more than 70 years old, and they’re not just for display …   they are all well used and well loved.

Their old mill is full of perfectly old machinery: which is pretty uncommon in the textile industry today. These machines are part of the Cushendale heritage for a reason: they may run slower and produce less but that’s why they make better textiles. This slower manufacturing ethos is gentler, produces deeper colour and also the perfect degree of softness. 

The future looks bright for Cushendale - they recently launched a re-designed showroom in Graignamanagh and with the fresh input of his daughter Miriam the brand will continue to thrive. Philip explains they are ‘here for six generations’ and his people have been ‘buried in Graig' since 1690’.

The tradition of wool in the town remains in very safe hands and Philips's legacy is secure.