Quaker sampler returns to Ireland
A Quaker sampler dating back to 1805 has been donated to Mountmellick Museum
A sampler stitched by an Irish Quaker more than two centuries ago has found its way ‘home’ from Australia.
The sampler was made by Irish Friend Hannah Davis in 1805 and shows a map of Europe. She gave it to her niece Margaret Beale in 1852, when Margaret’s family emigrated to Australia.
Bronwyn Mutton, of Western Australia, discovered the sampler when looking through her late father’s belongings.
She and her family decided to donate it to Mountmellick Museum in County Laois. The museum tells the story of the town’s famous embroidery and Quaker heritage.
Descendants of Hannah Davis joined Charlie Flanagan, the Irish minister for foreign affairs, to see Ruth Adler, the Australian ambassador to Ireland, unveil the restored sampler in its new home.
Curator Dolores Dempsey described it as ‘very valuable and treasured’, and said that the museum would ensure that the sampler ‘will survive by being appropriately stored, exhibited and preserved for future generations to view’.
