Muriel Gahan

Who was Muriel Gahan?

Muriel Gahan was an Irish rural campaigner.

Gahan was born in County Donegal; in 1900 her family moved to Castlebar, County Mayo. She moved to Dublin in 1926, joining the Society of United Irishwomen in 1929, founding Country Workers Ltd and the Country Shop in 1930. Her reasons for the latter foundations was "her realisation of the lack of respect for craft workers, and their need for a retail outlet for their products.".

In 1935 she launched the Irish Homespun Society in an effort to preserve some of the country's homespun traditions. Exhibitions where held at the annual Dublin Spring Show. She was a founder-member of the Irish Arts Council, vice-president of the Royal Dublin Society and received an honorary doctorate by University of Dublin in 1978.

The Muriel Gahan Scholarship of one thousand pounds is awarded annually at the RDS national crafts competition.

On 7 April 2011, The Muriel Gahan Museum of Irish History was opened at An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth, home of the ICA. The museum is now home to many items of Irish history, craft and culture.