DAY TEN: Belleek Pottery, Sligo, Knock, Galway

Our tour guide Jaime allowed us to “lie in” this morning and we took up on her offer crawling out of bed at 7:15 am and, following breakfast, boarding the bus at 9:30!!! It was a treat!

Our first stop of the day was a tour of the world-famous Belleek Pottery to learn how this beautifully perfect, thin, iridescent porcelain is made.  Every one of 5000 individual pieces each week is, itself, incredibly made without a measure of any kind then fired first for 24 hours at 1200 degrees, then a second time for 10 hours at 1000 degrees.  

But as amazing is the making of this exquisite art, the story behind the business is even more impressive.  In 1857, a young man inherited his father’s estate-in-ruins and was concerned about the future of his tenants who traditionally were told to move on when they couldn’t pay rent because they were financially strapped due to crop failures, sickness or other circumstances.  A survey of his land found it had all the right “ingredients” to make pottery so he hired a few expert craftsmen from around the UK to teach his local workforce and Belleek Pottery was born, since then providing a livelihood for several generations as it has become known worldwide for its fine workmanship.