Threads of Lore celebrates a wonderful National Heritage Week in Dunshaughlin

Threads of Lore celebrated a hugely successful National Heritage Week 2026 in Dunshaughlin on Thursday 20th August, with two special events bringing the community together through embroidery, local history and shared stories.

The afternoon began with The Fabric of Our Community at Dunshaughlin Pastoral Centre, where members of the public were invited to contribute to a new local community tapestry.

Threads of Lore were honoured to have 2 of the Mountmellick embroiderers join them for the workshop and to speak about and display examples of their work.

The workshop attracted a fantastic turnout, welcoming experienced stitchers and complete beginners alike. Threads of Lore members demonstrated basic stitches and helped participants add their own contribution to the collaborative piece. Each participant’s name will be recorded for posterity, creating a lasting record of the people who helped create the tapestry.

The event reflected the ethos at the heart of Threads of Lore, using traditional embroidery to bring people together, share skills and preserve local stories and heritage.

That evening, Voyage of Hope attracted a full house to Dunshaughlin Library for a special presentation exploring a moving chapter of local history.

Voyage of Hope is a tapestry project for Threads of Lore telling the story of sixteen young women who left Dunshaughlin Workhouse in 1849 to begin new lives in Australia under the Earl Grey Assisted Emigration Scheme.

Through detailed historical research, original artwork and traditional embroidery, Threads of Lore is preserving this remarkable chapter of local history, honouring the courage, resilience and hope of those who embarked on a life-changing voyage across the world.

The evening included a presentation by Mr Jim Gilligan, exploring the history of the sixteen young women, their departure from Dunshaughlin and their voyage to Australia.

Susan Horgan, Project Lead for Voyage of Hope, also spoke about the sixteen girls who left Dunshaughlin, the development of the tapestry and how the finished piece will be created. Susan also shared the very special experience of meeting descendants of Margaret Wogan in Navan Library earlier this year, creating a remarkable connection between the project and the family of one of the young women whose story it is preserving.

Research for the project has uncovered individual stories including those of Catherine Ivory and Margaret Wogan, both aged just 16 when they left Ireland in 1849. Their stories help look beyond the historical records and remember the lives these young women built thousands of kilometres from County Meath.

Artist Ailbhe Reilly Tuite created the original artwork for Voyage of Hope, working with the historical research gathered for the project to develop illustrations that will become the blueprint for the embroidery.

In July, four Threads of Lore members travelled to Cork to meet Ailbhe in their studio and view the completed designs. Seeing months of research transformed into artwork marked an important milestone in bringing the story of the sixteen young women to life through tapestry.

The Heritage Week celebrations also come at an exciting time for Threads of Lore following the launch of its new website, created by MCP Marketing.

The website brings together years of research, creativity, stitching and community involvement, giving Threads of Lore a dedicated online home from which to share its work with audiences in Ireland and further afield.

Visitors can meet the stitchers and artists, follow the Journey of the River Boyne in Threads, explore individual tapestry panels, discover the stories behind Voyage of Hope, learn more about other projects and gain an insight into the embroidery and creative processes involved.

The new website can be explored at threadsoflore.ie.

The success of both events highlighted what lies at the heart of Threads of Lore: bringing people together to research, create and preserve stories through art and embroidery.

From members of the community adding their own stitches in the afternoon to a full house discovering the story of sixteen young women who left Dunshaughlin more than 175 years ago that evening, 20th August was a very special day for Threads of Lore. Threads of Lore would like to thank everyone who attended, contributed and supported the events.

Voyage of Hope has received grant funding from Meath County Council and Creative Ireland, while The Fabric of Our Community Heritage Week workshop was supported by a grant from The Heritage Council. Threads of Lore gratefully acknowledges this support, which has helped make these projects and events possible.