Clones Lace and AI Luddites
For over 20 years I have passed the Ulser Canal Stores in Clones on my way to visit family in Lurgan, County Armagh. I would normally only stop in Clones to refuel or walk the dogs along the Ulster Canal Walkway. This time it was actually a planned trip to Clones to deliver a letter. I brought a friend along for the journey from Cavan town with a plan to have a coffee in the cafe. It was only when we wandered downstairs from the shop at the entrance we discovered the Clones Lace Museum. My first thought was of my ancestors who had worked as weavers in the linen industry in Lurgan. My Mum had talked about my grandfather working all day at the loom. The exhibition was called ‘Linked by a Thread’ and told the story of local lace makers who were skilled in design, entrepreneurship and resilience during the famine and subsequent years.
I felt connected to the place and photographed some of the Clones lace which dated back to 1808 to include wedding dresses and collars. We proceeded upstairs again to locate the cafe and waited at a table on the canal side of the building by the window for our order of homemade scones and coffee. A friendly gentleman, who seemed to be linked to the visitor centre, started chatting and discovering I was from Lurgan, a town known for linen production, he pointed out the winch butts embedded in the wall. He explained how flax was winched down onto the canal boats docked alongside the building. The produce was then transported from Clones by canals and waterways to ultimately end up in the linen factories in Lurgan after a short journey by road. Lurgan had a large factory based industry which produced fine linen fabric compared to Clones which had a domestic cottage industry which produced sophisticated lace, transforming the linen into fashionable and expensive items.
In 1910 Clones was known as the centre of lace making in Ireland. It could take up to 20 hours to crochet a seven inch piece of lace compared to about two hundred hours to sew. Lace craft has made a comeback and is safe from AI technology so long as traditionalists like Maire Treanor continue to offer the Clones Lace Summer Schools every June. Other champions in handcrafting include Liz Christy who has lace-making in her genes. I visited Liz a few years ago at her Swallow Studios in Castleblayney. She is a globally well known and respected textile artist and hand-weaver. The sound of the looms making beautifully coloured scarfs in her workshop was easy to listen to. I wondered if my grandfather found comfort in the noise of the larger looms in his workplace in Lurgan many years ago. Liz and I talked about automation and agreed hand-weaved scarfs would always be the preferred choice for her customers.
Nowadays, AI-powered fabric design is available online with software capable of translating your text description into a pattern which can then be printed onto unlimited metres of cotton or cotton-linen material. There is a future for AI in home decor fabric designs with human imagination being the only limiting factor. AI enables customers to obtain more personalised designs for their homes and clothing if that is what they want. Some customers, like those who buy Clones Lace and Liz’s scarfs and LizzyC Sheep gifts, prefer to know they have purchased hand-made products. I was pleased to see Liz’s products on sale in the visitor centre in Clones with a photo of her weaving on a cotton warp under the heading ‘Wearable art - Inspired by art’. It’s definitely free from AI influence.
I wouldn’t describe Liz as an AI Luddite, a term for a person who fears AI and believes it threatens jobs and livelihoods. The term ‘Luddites’ originated from 19th Century Millworkers in England who were concerned about the introduction of machinery in the textile industry. They believed this evolution in technology would lead linen producing towns like Lurgan - once known as the ‘Cradle of the Linen Industry’ - from the “cradle” to the grave. The Luddites did not oppose progress but were concerned about human welfare and feared the loss of jobs through automation. Nowadays the fear of AI replacing jobs is also prominent but should not lead to society resisting and ignoring the need to progress in conjunction with the technology. Overcoming fear of AI requires literacy and availing of opportunities to learn about the technology which is here to stay and develop even further. It is not advisable to bury our heads in the sand and hope it goes away.
History assures us that technology does not eliminate jobs but transforms them. AI will not replace workers but employees who utilise AI will take over the jobs of those who fail to adapt the technology.