Bá Dhún na nGall Teo, a traditional knitwear company based in Cill Charthaigh, southwest Donegal, is celebrating the global success of its ‘Fisherman Out of Ireland’ knitwear label.  The ‘Fisherman Out of Ireland’ label was created by the company 25 years ago with the aim of supplying Irish made premium quality, knitwear.

Twenty five years on, 70% of Bá Dhún na nGall’s knitwear products are exported to over fifteen countries, including Russia, Australia, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Japan, Austria and the US. Although operating in a highly competitive market and competing with low-cost manufacturing countries, Bá Dhún na nGall Teo has positioned itself firmly at the high-end of the luxury market with their ‘Fisherman Out of Ireland’ label.

Supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta, the company manufactures knitted garments and accessories for the luxury market and is a subsidiary of the Blarney Woollen Mills Group. Working with designer Louise Elliott, the company uses traditional patterns and yarns such as merino wool, cashmere, mohair and alpaca to create stylish clothing which appeals to the conscious consumer and has a wide age range appeal. It uses yarns that are 100% natural and one of which is spun locally by another Cill Charthaigh based company, Donegal Yarns.

Bá Dhún na nGall Teo currently employs 25 people and exports over 30,000 garments annually from its production facility in Cill Charthaigh. The company plans to further invest in textile technology and upgrade its production equipment over the next year.

Des Daly, Manager of Bá Dhún na nGall Teo, says that the success of the ‘Fisherman Out of Ireland label’ has been made possible by hard work and a very committed workforce.

“To be here 25 years later with a growing client list, is most certainly down to our entire team. Most of the employees have been working here since the company started and they are all from the locality. Without their hard work, our success would not have been possible.”

“We have grown a very loyal customer base and get nominated for awards regularly.  We are seeing increasing interest from designer labels, which have an interest in partnering our ‘Fisherman Out of Ireland’ label under their own brand labels.  We have worked closely with award winning designers such as Paul Costello, Paul Smith (U.K) and more recently Peter O’Brien to name but a few. Our garments and accessories are stocked in outlets as far away as the Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia.”

“With growing interest in our label from brands such as Prada, our vision and challenge for the future is to place ourselves in a position that Bá Dhún na nGall Teo, our employees, the southwest Donegal textile industry and the local economy can all benefit from securing partnerships with such well-known global brands and we are very much looking forward to celebrating more years of success.” he said.

Photo : Des Daly, Manager of Bá Dhún na nGall & Fisherman out of Ireland.

Photo: Paul Doherty Photography