So here it is, Merry Christmas. Well, not quite, but the season to be jolly will soon be upon us. Seeing as how Pricewatch is always banging on about the need to shop early and shop local, we thought we’d better publish our list of excellent Irish-based retailers doing the business online a couple of weeks earlier this year. So you’ve no excuse not to get yourself sorted well ahead of time.
Toys
This Munster-based chain has all you need to add a bit of magic into a youthful Christmas stocking.
A multi-award-winning Irish brand “inspired by Granny, creating memories that last for generations” with ethically handmade children’s toys and gifts.
Galway’s Wooden Heart has a fine range of old-school toys, many of which are wooden, as the name might suggest.
An excellent Stillorgan-based toy shop in its sixth decade where you’ll will find all the toys you need, as well as staff who are experts in what they sell.
This Letterkenny shop focuses on body-positive dolls doing smart things, with one of the top sellers this year the “kid activist doll” carrying a placard which reads: “Kids voices’ matter”.
An eco toy store selling things that “delight both the child and their planet”. Stock is climate-kind with minimal-waste “and full of joy”. What’s not to love about that?
A gorgeous site selling environmentally friendly and sustainable toys, art supplies and bath toys.
Lovely Ennis shop crammed with gorgeous presents from Ireland and elsewhere. The range of books is impressive, as are the soft and not-so-soft toys.
Toys for children of all abilities, but with a particular emphasis on those that appeal to kids with additional needs.
Doll’s houses, wooden kitchens, activity tables, furniture and more.
Treats
The oldest smokehouse in Connemara, with “a taste as wild and enchanting as the West of Ireland’s rugged coastline”. You will find organic smoked salmon, wild peppered smoked mackerel and smoked tuna.
The Hedermans’ business turned 40 and recenly won the Walter Scheel Medaille, a prestigious European award recognising outstanding service to the preservation of European culinary tradition. You will find hot and cold smoked salmon, and plenty more.
Looking for a foodie’s present? You’ll not go wrong with the cheesiest hampers in Ireland.
Sheridan’s might be the big cheese, but it’s not the only one, and this site has a gorgeous-looking range for sale.
If. you want a dozen oysters delivered to your (or someone else’s ) door, then these Sligo folk will see you right. They also sell wines, champagnes and other treats.
Some of the finest fudge in the country comes from an island off the west coast. There are up to 20 flavours to choose from.
“From jams and preserves to our delicious gingerbread men, all our food items are handmade in our Galway bakery,” the site says. And there’s more: “When you buy a Gourmet Tart hamper you are directly supporting 70 local jobs.”
This family business from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford is a social enterprise, which sets it apart for a start. It encourages Irish food producers, growers and cottage industries to sell and export, and its motto is: “If it’s not grown, raised, produced, or caught on Irish-registered trawlers, it will not be sold on our site.”
The Kerry home of the fanciest whiskeys, gins and vodkas also has some swanky merch available.
The Cork home of a small-scale producer that sells whiskeys, gins and vodkas as well as a range of glassware and accessories.
Ireland’s sixth-century monks would, we like to think, be delighted to learn that there is a poitín being sold under their name now. The place also sells whiskey and gin.
Another Irish distiller with a range of gins and whiskeys as well as some nice gifts.
Lovely chocolate, made to look beautiful in the Burren. It sells year-round chocolates and festive fancies.
Gra from Galway continues to go from strength to strength. Its chocolates are made with ethically sourced Valrhona Chocolate, Casa Luker cocoa butter and Irish cream and butter. It’s created in small batches, with each chocolate taking three days to make.
“Christmas has arrived,” the Butler’s site said last week. While suggesting Christmas has arrived on October 31st might be a stretch, we’ll forgive them as they have some excellent – and very festive – chocolates.
Caboose brings many of the best Irish artisan food producers together in one place.
Gifts
Hand-decorated Oyster shells from Galway which look gorgeous, and would make for a nicely unusual gift this year.
This site has a goal of helping people understand how they can make little changes to benefit their pocket and their planet, with a range of sustainable products.
Fond of the sea? Or do you know someone who is? Maybe you – or they – don’t like to be cold, or at least cold outside the water. Here you will find changing robes, beach ponchos and dry bags.
This is the place for “gratitude, manifestation packs and a high vibe sweatshirt”. It focuses on things “required to spend time taking stock of what you are grateful for, or what you want to manifest in your life to become the best version of who you are”.
This family-owned operation is a one-stop shop for local, lasting and lovely things. Stocking more than 150 Irish makers and artists, from knitwear to jewellery to ceramic art, they also make their own hand-painted pottery.
georginaohanlonillustration.com
Artist Georgina O’Hanlon creates and sells high-end silk scarves and fine art prints inspired by the Irish landscape. This year, she has conjured up the “most snuggly woven blankets, infused with my hand-drawn artworks inspired by the magical surroundings of the Phoenix Park”, with some proceeds going to the Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin.
Located in the Burren, as the name might suggest, these folk make all 180 of their products on-site. Shoppers can expect to find perfumes, organic skincare, candles and herbal teas.
A family-run business based on the edge of Connemara, specialising in soy wax candle collections, as well as homewares and furniture.
It’s heartening to see the increasing prominence of eco-friendly gifts on this list. Here’s another one. This company sells “skin-loving products, made with natural ingredients, and without unnecessary waste”.
We’ve long been fans of this social enterprise which matches emerging designers with makers from marginalised backgrounds around Ireland, who are supported to find employment and develop their skills. It gets better each year.
Ethically and locally-made weighted pillows that promise to help adults and children sleep more soundly and for longer, as well as reduce pain and anxiety.
Looking for gifts with an Irish personality? These folk will have you covered. Quirky Irish Icons “capture the culture and fun of Ireland across a unique selection of frames, magnets and gifts for you and your loved ones! They are lovingly designed and handmade by Dublin grandma Patricia Pierce.”
Set up by people keen to “do our part to help reduce unnecessary chemicals and plastics in the world”. They aim to local makers and are inspired by the Scandinavian concepts of hygge (which you have heard of) and lagom (which means not too much, nor too little, just right).
Kerry-based shop set up by two sisters with retail running through their veins, as they follow in the footsteps of their great-great-grandmother. Chances are she wasn’t selling quite as eclectic a range of gifts as this, mind you.
One of the big champions of keeping it green in recent years, this site has a vast array of fashion, gifts, art jewellery and whatever you’re having yourself.
Maypole Lane is an “independent, Irish business based out of Cork” which sells all manner of cool looking things that kids (and their parents) will love.
What does this place have to say about itself? “Well-designed wall art is a great addition to any home, but travel posters bring an extra dimension [and] serve simply to say: ‘This is where I come from’.”
This site promises “remarkable gifts and bright ideas” and it delivers, both literally and figuratively. A great place to go if you are looking for the most imaginative of presents, to suit most budgets.
In their own words: “Memorable gifts to last a lifetime. All beautifully wrapped and shipped by our wonderful team in Co Clare.” It covers everything from socks to tech, with presents big and small.
A super-cool shop with an equally cool ethos seeking to provide “a range of timeless products that steer clear from trends, instead offering functionality, good design and longevity”. It has a list of designers longer than a Aran jumper’s arm, but we think it can be summed up in five words we found on the site: “Nice things. That is all.”
Sligo shop with jewellery, clothes, ceramics, art, skincare and children (or at least things that children might like).
This might not be the first site you think of when starting your shopping, but it does have all manner of nice things, and when we looked in the middle of last week there was a 15 per cent discount across the board.
Soy candles made with sustainable and natural ingredients in the maker’s Waterford home. The range is “inspired by my family and love of baking”.
This Galway shop gets better and better with unusual jewellery, art homewares and other fun stuff.
The home of luxurious artisan perfumes and candles inspired by the Irish landscape.
The people at Rathbornes have been making candles for a very, very long time, so you’d expect them to be quite good at it and have a large range by now. And you’d be right.
The place to go for the cleverest of games and toys for the smartest of children of all ages. Some funky stuff for adults, too.
It’s never too slate to get a gift that will last for ever. This site has coasters, cheeseboards and candlestick holders etched with some of the most iconic images of Ireland you might imagine.
Just a really good shop that actually puts the customer front and centre, and deserves all our support for that.
A Waterford-based luxury book subscription and gifting operation that delivers gorgeous gifts, beautifully presented with wonderful new books, delicious chocolate and artisan surprises.
A place to cover homewares and clothes as well as jewellery and accessories. And that is just for starters.
From “house socks” to eye pillows, this site has all sorts of stuff your loved ones might need without knowing they need it. And as the name might suggest, it’s all Irish.
Design Ireland is a platform for homegrown designers selling everything from homewares to clothes, jewellery, accessories and beauty products.
Have you a favourite lyric or poem? Some lines from a movie? Or something you’ve written yourself? The Word Bird offers personalised and original pre-printed word art by Susan Brambell.
Again, in their own words: “We created the shop that we wished existed in our hometown [Waterford]. Then we took it online for the world to enjoy.”
Jando, a printmaking studio in Smithfield, has a neat line in architectural and landmark-themed screen prints. They have a new print this year of the Aviva Stadium for the rugby or (less likely at the moment) football fan in your world.
A Clonakilty-based site where you will find some beautiful, ethically focused Irish craft and design and excellent eco toys.
Another site full of unique gifts from makers and designers across Ireland.
Candles, soaps, leather handbags, wallets and gloves, art, jewellery, woollen scarves and throws, tweed hats, fleece jackets, felt art, cool jigsaws and more.
Jewellery
The Chupi story continues to unfold, with the designer’s footprint getting bigger with each passing year.
Edgy jewellery, ethically made in Ireland with designs for men and women in solid gold and sterling silver.
This business, born in the Ox Mountains in Co Mayo, is very cool. If you are in the market for stunning jewellery, you’ll be glad you stopped by.
This designer, based in Oysterhaven, Co Cork, specialises in handmade silver and gold contemporary jewellery for men and women.
More gorgeously unique jewellery options, with the option to have pieces made to order.
In the market for handcrafted necklaces and other pieces made with ancient Irish script? You’ll be sorted here.
Jewellery designed in Dublin with sterling silver and thick gold-plating. It’s where you should go for all your stacking needs. Or at least, that is what the site tells us!
Clothes
A really great Irish clothing business, based in Dublin, with a laser-sharp focus on the ethics of fashion.
Clothes made in an eco-friendly and sustainable fashion, with 5 per cent of each sale donated to homeless charities around Ireland.
Another ethically-driven enterprise, with designs “bursting with rich colours and playful prints”. It adds: “We’re inspired by vintage and retro fashion to create unique clothing that flatters, fits and feels good.”
The Hannas of Donegal have been making high-quality hats for generations, and they are extremely good at it.
Still in Donegal, this site has clothes for men and women, soft furnishings and more. Much of it comes with a tweedy twist.
A Galway-based company selling the very best of socks with some brilliant designs. So good you won’t want to cover them with shoes.
More socks, coming in vibrant colours which are frequently seamless, literally.
The place for all your jumpery needs, as well as the odd pair of slippers, shirts, capes and more.
Another brilliant sock shop – or co-op – with fabulous footwear featuring fantastic Irish landmarks.
This might just be the only site to have featured on every pre-Christmas shopping list Pricewatch has ever written. With its funny and inventive T-shirts and the like, it deserves its place. It’s always adding new lines, and the “L’opportunité Enorme” t-shirt on sale now might be a handy number for the rugby fan in your life. We won’t explain what it means, as if you don’t know, you probably won’t care!
Homewares, clothes for men, women and kids, gifts, books and more, all coming from a little shop in Clifden, Co Galway.
Fun and functional clothes from Spiddal, Co Galway that might teach you a thing or two about the mother tongue.
Books
The Galway-based bookseller scarcely needs any introduction. It has everything you need and, more often than not, will compete with the biggest of players when it comes to price.
More than 100,000 second-hand books, with some so cheap they are practically giving them away.
Family-run bookstore in Wicklow and winner of the An Post Bookshop of the Year 2022, among other garlands.
Another award-winning Wicklow shop, but this time the focus is on children’s books, with reading materials for kids of all ages.
We’ve never been in it, but we have read a lot about this shop. Not only does it sell loads and loads of books, it also has a vision to “live in a world where every story matters, to live in a world that understands that (our) stories are interconnected. It is this understanding that can help make our world a more equal society”. What’s not to love about that?
Another Galway institution, this site is a great place to go for a virtual wander as you seek out new and second-hand books.
“The only thing we love more than books is helping our customers find their next great read,” the site tells us. That’s sometimes an empty promise, but we reckon these guys deliver.
A site which is groaning under the strain of all the wonderful kids’ books on offer.
Just because it’s the biggest of bookshops doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a spot on a list of Irish retailers. Enormous range from a longstanding staple of the Irish book scene.
Dubray is owned by Eason, and it recently bought the Gutter Bookshop, which used to feature on this list. It can get confusing betimes, right?
Skincare/beauty
The place for all the hairbrushes and curlers and shower combs you will ever need. Probably.
Clare-based business offering ethical and environmentally friendly alternatives to mainstream soaps, shower gels and washing powders.
Another ethically-minded brand coming out of the West. There are cleansers, scrubs, gift sets and serums on offer here.
Dundalk skincare range that sustainably makes 100 per cent Irish products, specially formulated for sensitive skin.
Organic and vegan beauty products covering facial cleansers, body scrubs and elixirs, and more besides.
There will be no dodgy chemicals in the products found on this site.
Gorgeous brand with a wide range of natural skincare and home fragrance products, free from nasty synthetics.
