The Aran islands are a place of wild, raw beauty located just off the west coast of Ireland. For centuries, the inhabitants of Inis Meáin island have made their living as fishermen. This demanding work requires particularly hard-wearing and warm clothing, leading to the uniquely patterned Aran jumpers for which the island group is known.
The Inis Meáin mill was established in 1976, when couple Tarlach de Blácam and Áine Ní Chonghaile reloated to the remote island. They both felt a strong connection to the area, and made several attempts to find a way to make a living on the island before settling on founding a small knitting mill named after the island itself and harnessing its inhabitants' generations of expertise in creating unique knitwear.