Blarney Woollen Mills marks 50 years – from cottage beginnings to €50m global brand

Founded by Christy Kelleher in 1973, Blarney Woollen Mills has grown from a cottage business into a €50m international brand

Freda Hayes, CEO Blarney Woolen Mills pictured standing proudly outside the store that boasts the title of the largest Irish shop in the world. Picture: Chani Anderson

IN BUSINESS, they say the customer is always right. An email sent earlier this week from a US visitor gave buoyant affirmation to workers at Blarney Woollen Mills from 7,000km away.

Bill Boyer, from Parker, Colorado, USA, has just returned from his August trip to Blarney — his third trip to Ireland — and complimented the team that his purchase, made in Cork, was on his doorstep on his arrival home in Colorado: “I do have an Aran that is my favourite sweater to this day, that I bought at the Mills almost 40 years ago. Quite warm during our cold Colorado winters. I am working to drop a little weight to fit back into it.”