Island dress, Inis Meáin

Seán Mac Donnchadha (MacDonagh), Inis Meáin, Aran Islands (identified by his granddaughter Teresa Ní Fhátharta) wearing the traditional homespun waistcoat and báinin (white woollen) collarless jacket over a white shirt. Almost all clothing was made from wool spun, woven and dyed on the islands. The Mac Donnchadha family were hosts to the playwright J M Synge from the time of his first visit to the island in 1898 and their cottage, Teach Synge, is now a museum dedicated to their famous visitor. The MacDonagh cottage became known as Ollscoil na Gaeilge (University of Irish) owing to the number of scholars who lodged there.