This beautiful little doll comes from Inisheer on the Aran Islands. In 1939 it was handed into the folklore collections of the National Museum of Ireland, where it is now stored in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Simply made, the body of the doll is fashioned from a single piece of timber, most likely driftwood, that was roughly shaped. Eyes are provided by two iron tacks/nails, which are hammered into the ‘face’. The doll is dressed in a colourful woollen head-scarf, shawl and felt dress that mirrors Aran Island clothing of the 1930s (see image below). Although rudimentary in nature, it is not hard to imagine how this small doll was once a much loved toy.



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