The Dresser Project Website

The

Dresser

Project

by Michael Fortune/folklore.ie

Buy The 2024 Irish Dresser and Folklore Calendar

The 2024 Irish Dresser and Folklore Calendar features dressers from counties Meath, Mayo, Tipperary, Sligo, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Offaly and Carlow plus a load more interesting folklore and calendar dates from throughout Ireland.

This year I have also included a series of QR Codes on each month which will take you to interviews with the dresser owners PLUS to a load of folklore related interviews and texts that I have produced over the decades. For example you will have links to YouTube videos on ‘How to make a St. Brigid’s Cross’ or learn all about The May Bush Tradition or how to make a traditional Colcannon at Hallowe’en!

There will only be 3,000 calendars printed this year, compared to 5,000 in previous years as I am also working on a new folklore publication entitled The Living Folklore of County Wexford which will be launched on the 1st of December. This new publication will draw on my time and resources and as I am one person producer and I have balance both.

The Calendar - Where it is printed and technical spec.

The calendar was printed with Walsh Print in Co. Kerry and will A3 in size folded down to A4, complete with a drill hole for ease of hanging. It is saddle stitched with full image on top and month and information on the bottom. I have also uploaded a Preview Copy

of the calendar on ISSUU so you can see exactly what the 2024 edition looks like. Please note Preview watermark on this copy.

https://issuu.com/michaelfortunefolklore/docs/the_2024_dresser_and_folklore_calendar

The days and months are in the Irish and English language and the front cover is a 300gsm silk gloss laminate paper while the inside pages are on 150gsm silk. It is hung via a punched hole. Please refer to the YouTube videos here which shows you what the publications looks like.

€3 shipping on all to anywhere in Ireland.

The calendar costs €15 plus €3 shipping on any order numbered from 1 to 10. Due to rising An Post costs, I have to charge for P+P this year and have set a fixed €3 fee for all orders. This offer stands for all 32 counties of Ireland. Orders are shipped each day and it is usually next day delivery within Ireland if ordered before 4pm. Prices for orders outside of Ireland vary and again are based on set An Post costs. When you are ordering please select the number of calendars you want and then select the appropriate postage.

Credit Card Payments

The calendar can be paid for using all major credit cards and this year I have upgraded to Stripe which handles payment easier than my previous system. I can also take Credit Card payements over the phone too if you wish to pay that way. Call me on 087 6470247

Revolut

You can play by Revolut too and my Revtag is 'michaelfortune' or 0876470247. Please include your postal address when paying by Revolut.

Shops around Ireland

As I am such a small producer it is simply not feasible to stock the calendars in shops in every county in the country. It simple takes up too much admin and time. In saying that I have built up a list of bookshops which I will stock them in and will let you know these once these have been confirmed.

Other Payment Methods

If you don’t use online shopping you can also order by Cheque or Postal Order and they should be made out to Michael Fortune and posted to Curragraigue, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Y21C867. Please include the senders full address with these orders.

Ireland (32 counties)

England, Scotland, Wales, Europe and rest of World

United States/Canada

Australia, New Zeland

and the Rest of World

The Irish

Dresser Project

The Irish Dresser Project is an ongoing body of research that I have been conducting around Ireland since 2015.

In ways, the seed for this collection was planted in the mid-1970s when I spent the first years of my life living with my grandmother in her ‘two-up, two-down’ cottage in Ballygarrett on the coast of Co. Wexford. At the epicentre of this small house was a simple, practical and well-used kitchen dresser.

While in art college in the mid-1990s, I began noticing the importance of such objects as receptacles of life stories and the deep connection between them and their owners. The incident which sparked this particular project happened in February 2015 when my grandmother, aged 103, passed away.

In October 2014, her independent lifestyle changed when she lost the use of her legs and she simply could not make it upstairs to her bedroom. Many options were considered and one suggestion which came from a visiting nurse was that she move her bed downstairs. The kitchen space was so small, the nurse suggested that her dresser be removed. Not a woman to mince her words, she responded “Like shite, no-one is touching my dresser”. She passed away in February with her dresser remaining intact.

In the months to follow, I made contact with Arts Officers in four local authorities in counties Mayo, Carlow, Tipperary and Waterford - counties in which I had previously undertaken folklore collections. With their support, I set about documenting dressers in each county and producing a photographic and film series which was launched as part of their Bealtaine programmes in May. I also decided to partner with two organisations I’d worked with before: the Department of Folklore and Ethnology in UCC and the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life in Mayo.

Stella Byrne, Marshalstown, Co. Wexford

One thing that became apparent to me was how the role of the dresser changed over the years from a practical place to hold ware, cups, milk, flour, sugar, etc. in the kitchen to a more shrine-like position in the home. In saying that, the dressers are not just dry pieces of folk furniture or relics of the past. Instead they are an evolving and ever-changing display reflecting the experiences, lives and values of their keepers, serving as shrines as well as practical pieces of furniture.

Over the years I have presented these findings at talks, events and exhibitions throughout Ireland. Something resonated with people with this project and has received wide media coverage at a local and national level and has featured in different programmes on RTÉ Radio and TV, Virgin TV as well as features in newspapers and journals from The Examiner, The Farmers Journal, RTÉ Culture and a plethora of local radio and newspapers over these years..

I am currently producing these photos, films and stories into a new archive and publication which I will share with you in the coming months. Although I never set out to it, I have by chance managed to document over 250 contemporary dressers around Ireland; their stories, their makers and their regional styles.

Michael Fortune, September 2023

The Irish Dresser

and Folklore Calendar

Background

In the Summer of 2020 and in the depths of Covid I decided to produce a calendar using the images and stories of Irish dressers that I’d documented around the country since 2015. I had thousands of photos on my hardrives and hundreds of stories in my head that needed to see the light of day.

So in September I designed the calendar from my home here in Wexford. Once I had a draft produced, I decided to add another layer and pencil in various Irish folklore calendar dates. To be honest, I was tired of seeing dates on calendars and diaries that had no connection to me in Ireland. I also noticed many were designed and printed outside of Ireland and this was something that I addressed and deliberately got mine printed with Walsh Print in Kerry.

So here we are, three years and three calendars later. The calendar has been a huge success and every year has been a sell-out. The operation is a very simple where I have my hand to everything from the taking the photos, to the design and then the distribution. This is all done from my home/studio here in rural Wexford and sales open in late October and finish up just before Christmas.

90% of my sales come from online while I do have some bookshops around the country that stock them. I am too small of a producer to get them stocked nationwide and the time chasing and following up shops simply isn’t feasible.

Maureen Carroll, Birr, Co. Offaly

The 2024 Irish Dresser and Folklore Calendar

I am currently designing the 2024 calendar which will be available to buy from this website and some shops around the country in late October 2023.

I have kept the calendar costs the same as it was in 2021 and they will retail €15 each. €15 includes free P+P in Ireland while postage is extra for any orders outside of Ireland. You will be able to an purchase them using all Major Cards, PayPal and Revolut, while if you don’t use online payment can also order by Cheque or Postal Order.

Please follow my Social Media pages (Facebook and Instagram) to keep up to date on progress of the 2024 calendar.

www.facebook.com/folklore.ie

PDFs of Irish Dresser and Folklore Calendar

(2021, 2022 and 2023)

The 2021 Calendar

Featuring dressers and stories from Mayo, Tipperary, Carlow, Waterford and Wexford.

Click image above to view a PDF of the 2021 calendar in ISSUU.

The 2022 Calendar

Featuring dressers and stories from Cork, Wicklow, Galway, Clare, Mayo, Meath, Tipperary, Carlow, Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford.

Click image above to view a PDF of the 2022 calendar in ISSUU.

The 2023 Calendar

Featuring dressers and stories from Mayo, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Carlow, Offaly, Waterford and Wexford.

Click image above to view a PDF of the 2023 calendar in ISSUU.

Videos of Irish Dresser

and Folklore Calendar

The 2024 Irish Dresser and Folklore Calendar

Customer Feedback from October 2023

A selection of comments left by people who purchased the 2024 calendar in the past few days and weeks. As you can see, there are very happy customers out there!!

Thank you! Getting one for my classroom and one for a Polish student. I teach who was thrilled to see their customs acknowledged on it.

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Looking forward to the great pictures and info! Keep up the good work!

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Thank you for letting me pre-order the 2024 calendar.

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Looking forward to receiving the 24 edition.

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My grandma in Germany loves your calendar!

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I buy this every year for my mum, who used to live in Rosslare. Thank you for such a fantastic calendar!

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Thanks for providing a fantastic calendar again this year

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Can't wait for it to arrive!

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Love these calendars. Keep up the great work.

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Thank you for sharing your work through social media.

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Really enjoy this calendar, thank you.

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Can't wait to see all the lovely dressers!

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Lovely idea. Love the Folklore videos!

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Thank you for this wonderful calendar

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Wonderful project! Thank you.

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Love the stories, histories of the dressers, the calendar. Thanks!

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It's wonderful that you continue to do this. Thank you.

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Love the calendars Michael plus all the extras.

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Looking forward to another piece of history.

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Love Folklore.ie and the calendars!

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Thank you for creating another lovely calendar! I enjoy this all year long.

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Love the calendar and the Folklore.ie content!

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Thank you, Michael! I loved the 2023 edition

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Love these calendars, Michael.

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So excited to get these for myself and as gifts. My family and I love our calendars. Thank you!

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Good to know you've been able to find more dressers! Love these calendars.

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I've loved this so much I'm getting some for my sisters!

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I get great joy out of these calendars, thank you

Looking forward to seeing this

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Thank you for remembering the dresser.

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Your calendars have been educational and inspirational to our entire family. Thank you!

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Keep up the fab work you are doing xxx

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Love the calendar

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Wonderful work!

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Well done on producing lovely reminiscences.

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Fantastic calendar . Full of amazing information.

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Looking forward to seeing it.

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This is my wife's favorite Christmas gift!

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I so enjoy your posts on dressers and the folklore. Thank you. The calendar is for sons Irish/American parent in Mayo.

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Thanks for all the wonderful calendars for the last few years, we are all looking forward to this one in my house.

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My mom loved this!

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Thanks Michael, keep up the great and valuable work.

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Thank you for all your amazing work

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I'm a follower on Facebook, I love all your articles & photos.

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Great Stuff, Michael. Best wishes

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Love the calendars. Thanks for preserving local history

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Love this calendar.

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Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach.

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Mabee our dresser will be on next year's!

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Keep up the good work Michael. You've done so much to save our folklore and old sayings. Thank you.

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Beautiful idea love reading the monthly snippets of info as do my children

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Thank you Michael for a lovely calendar.

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Love these calendars fascinating piece of history Mum loves them.

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Michael love you website and the information and heritage you educate and inform your audience about.

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Thanks Michael. Really looking forward to your calendar. ( "Well done Said aul dunne When young dunne was born").

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A Great record of part of our Irish history. Well Done

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This will be the 3rd year that I give my wife your wonderful calendar as a Christmas gift. She would kill me if I didn't get it.

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Thank you for creating this calendar for 2024

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Purchased last years calendar for my Mum for Christmas, seeing whats on the next page has become the highlight of the month every month! We can't wait for next years, thank you so much!

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Thank you for the annual calendar

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Really enjoy your post, keep up the good work.

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Thank you, this calendar is for my Mam who is from Wexford, and our granny always had a beautiful dresser with a world of history attached to it, love the calendar.

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Best Christmas gift ever. Thank you!

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Thanks a million, I love the calendar and I really appreciate your work!

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Well Michael, again I look forward to the new calendar. You do a wonderful job and I always look forward to reading the stories attached to the dressers. Past calendars sit in my bookcase to be looked at from time to time.

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I'd love to have your calendar.

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Delighted you're continuing with this project Michael! Really love reading the stories behind each dresser.

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Looking forward as ever to my calendar, they are as much a part of our kitchen now as the kettle and The Sacred Heart picture!

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Reminds me of my summer hols when we'd go "home" to Ireland and visit all the relatives. Their dressers were a constant source of interest as the grown-ups chatted away.

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Keep up the great work Michael, these calendars are such a treat for my mam, another Fortune. Thanks for bring such joy!

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Best wishes for 2024 Michael

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Great calendar; perfect for the fridge door in the kitchen. It holds up well with 6 small magnets. I

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I love your dresser passion project!

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Present for My Daugher in England . Keep up the good work

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I look forward to your calendar every year!