I’m just home from the Dublin Craft Fair and have to share this with you.
Nineteen Wicklow women spent six years knitting the map of Ireland. The group of knitting friends set out to create a labour of love and thousands of hours went in to the construction of the 5m X 4m display. They unveiled it locally in July 2024 and were surprised at the interest it created – especially when Guinness picked up on it.
Guinness said they’d be happy to feature it if it could be proven as a record. The group lodged a formal claim and in September 2025, Guinness World Records confirmed it as the world’s largest knitted diorama!
We’ll start in Dublin with the Spire, Guinness Gate and zoo….
Then south to Glendalough…
Hook Head..
Blarney Castle… if you kiss the Blarney Stone you are gifted with eloquence!!!!
Our coastline is dotted with EIRE signs which were constructed during WW2 to signal to pilots that they wee flying over neutral Ireland….
The monks’ beehive huts on Skellig Michael….
The Cliffs of Moher
The Burren
The Shannon – our longest river..
Slieve League in County Donegal ( I think some of these guys might be related to me!!!)
The Giant’s Causeway (more impressive here than the real thing, to be honest!)
Belfast with the Titanic and Harland & Wolfe Cranes
What a brilliant exhibition or display, Marie. We’ve done something similar here on the Isle of Wight but not in such amazing set pieces. We’ve done things like covering Post Boxes, walls, special features etc., but what Ireland’s done leaves me speechless. Such a lot of talent there, not just in the knitting but in thinking about it and designing it. Thanks for letting us see this. Incidentally, some of your photos won’t enlarge at all so I’ve missed some details. Any idea why?
The people involved must be so chuffed at the attention it’s getting – particularly this week. I only read about it a few days ago so am delighted that I got to see it. NOT a clue Mari, as regards the photos!!!
Wow – that is magnificent! I only wish we had known it was there when we visited in June. Exactly the kind of sight we like to see! Thank you for the post – Cheers!
It’s very different isn’t it. I doubt you’d have seen it at the time – I think they’ve had difficulty with display and storage due to the size. But those running the Craft Fair seem to have come on board and I think the model is going to tour the country now…
Wow, this is amazing. What a wonderful project and a celebration of community spirit and creativity. I just love how the map includes numerous famous Irish landmarks, such as Glendalough’s Round Tower, Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse, the Giant’s Causeway, and Slieve League cliffs. I can only imagine the excitement about being included in the World Guinness Book of Records – that’s definately something to celebrate. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx.
I should have taken a photo of Sligo for you!!
Amazing .. and your photos compliment the work .. somebody should hire you !
Thanks Tre!!! Yep – I’m available!!!!!🤣
I’m sharing onto my facebook for all my knitting and Irish blooded friends and family!
Ah Brilliant!!! They’ll love it!!
It’s a fun project; I wonder how many knitters it would take to represent the entire world like this. Since there’s a Guinness World Record at stake, it may happen eventually.
As long as there is a record to be broken, someone will try!!!
wow, that is so well done!
⬻𓂀ღ☆∞♡ 🔺 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝒹𝒶𝓎 🔺 ♡∞☆ღ𓂀⤖
It is – I don’t think anyone walked on past while we were there – you’d have to stop and check your own part of the country!
That is so cool!
There’s an idea for you Lissy – you could do NYC!!!!!
That is an outstanding collaborative piece of work! I could spend ages studying all the details 🙂
I hadn’t enough time to check every little bit – it has everything – racecourses, high crosses, dolmens, They must have had such fun.
amazing!!!
It’s lovely to see traditional crafts be so effective…
That is an incredible labor of love of their art! 👍🏽
It must have been such fun as it took shape gradually, month by month
It’s pretty amazing and very detailed. And you’re right, it was definitely a labour of love!
I’d love to see it again actually – I was concentrating on the major landmarks but there’s so much more detail that I missed…
I’m awestruck, Maggie, by the imagination and talent in each image. I’m a huge knitter, but only ever with a pattern in hand. I couldn’t possibly figure out how to create from scratch presumably, each sight. Steven and I have toured your homeland at length, so I recognized most places. I was surprised at your comparison of the Giant’s Causeway, as I thought the original was rather spectacular, too!
I’m the same Annie – I can knit to a pattern but I’m that’s it. As for the Giant’s Causeway – I suppose I’ve been there maybe a half dozen times over the years – I always go with an open mind but come away underwhelmed to say the least! I think the scale is disappointing rather than the formation – looking at promotional images, you’d swear it was a massive spread but then you arrive and think ‘is this it’!!!
That’s stunning!! Wow. Imagine the hours that went into that.
And imagine the planning – deciding upon the scale of the figures and animals etc… and gathering all the colours and patterns!!
Likely that they made the patterns up as they went along!
Impressive and no doubt great fun for the knitters. I’m inspired now to do a post (or series of posts) on our remarkable Occupation Tapestry here in Jersey.
DO THAT! I don’t know anything about it so will look forward to it!
OK, and it’s somewhere else to go on a rainy Jersey day 🙂
Ha!! Hope it’s big enough to occupy a few rainy days!!