The Irish Saddler

The Irish Saddler Luxury leathergoods handmade with heritage craft skills in the heart of County Down
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The Saddler who makes more than saddles.....

After a lifetime of working with horses (and being accompanied by dogs) in 2016 Lucy travelled to Enfield, London, to study for two years at Capel Manor College, one of the last places to study saddlery full time. Since returning to Co Down, Lucy has continued to develop her skills in saddlery and leatherwork, regularly traveling to Britain to undertak

e further qualifications and training from Masters. Their mentorship, alongside support from a number of societies and trusts, has meant that she is able to continue to supply her customers with bespoke, luxury items of leatherwork and saddlery. For well loved or damaged items, Lucy provides a repair/refurbishment service to give items a renewed lease of life. It is these traditional skills, and high quality materials which let your bespoke commissions come to life. From bridles, bags, collars to home furnishings, working on new, exciting designs, we are always excited to bring your ideas to life. During this time Lucy has been awarded a number of qualifications, scholarships, bursaries and awards from:
-The Worshipful Company of Loriners Certificate in Lorinery 2017
-The Worshipful Company of Saddlers of the City of London: Undergraduate award in Saddlery 2017
-The Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers: 3rd Prize, Harness Bride Making Competition 2018
-Worshipful Company of Cordwainers' Diploma in Bridle, Saddle and Harness Making 2018
-City and Guilds Lvl 2 Bridle Making
-City and Guilds Lvl2 Harness Making
-City and Guilds Lvl2 Saddle Making
-Society of Master Saddlers: Saddle Flocking and Adjustment 2018
-Abbey England Scholarship 2019
-Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust: Scholarship for Horse collar making and fitting
-Design and Crafts Council of Ireland "Future Maker" 2019
-RDS Craft Award 2020
-Member of the Heritage Crafts Association
-Intermediate Sadder of the Society of Master Saddlers

🌟 Craft on Countryfile 🌟 A huge thank you to the crew at  for a wonderful spotlight showing heritage craft at  To be abl...
31/05/2026

🌟 Craft on Countryfile 🌟
A huge thank you to the crew at for a wonderful spotlight showing heritage craft at To be able to show the necessity for our skills is always a humbling honour both in person at the show and to a tv audience. Another huge thanks to Clive of for giving me the opportunity and to Stephen for being a fabulous client who felt brave enough to big me up on national telly!

🌟 Saddler on Site! 🌟 Come see us  today and tomorrow at stand H19 in next to the horticulture hub. If you need a quick r...
13/05/2026

🌟 Saddler on Site! 🌟
Come see us today and tomorrow at stand H19 in next to the horticulture hub. If you need a quick repair- that’s no problem- but please leave the miracles for the weekend πŸ™ Hopefully we won’t be blown away πŸŒͺ️

🌟 Beautiful Betty 🌟 Is there a better compliment to a bridle than two red ribbons on a newly commissioned bridle. Don’t ...
12/05/2026

🌟 Beautiful Betty 🌟
Is there a better compliment to a bridle than two red ribbons on a newly commissioned bridle. Don’t let good horses be put further down the line by a bad bridle choice. You wouldn’t put a marathon runner in the wrong shoes- don’t do the same to your beloved beasties!
Thank you to Betty’s lovely owner Nichola for sharing such lovely pictures πŸ₯°

🌟 Showing at Balmoral on Wednesday or Thursday? 🌟 Please get in touch as soon as you can πŸ™
09/05/2026

🌟 Showing at Balmoral on Wednesday or Thursday? 🌟
Please get in touch as soon as you can πŸ™

🌟 May the 4th be with you 🌟 Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, failure also. Failure most o...
04/05/2026

🌟 May the 4th be with you 🌟

Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, failure also. Failure most of all. The greatest teacher failure is. We are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters. ~ Yoda

🌟 May Day is Coming! 🌟 A gentle reminder to all those competing this season - check your gear now! Things will need orde...
06/04/2026

🌟 May Day is Coming! 🌟
A gentle reminder to all those competing this season - check your gear now! Things will need ordered, altered and time taken to repair and replace- don’t let it till the last minute! To be on the list means things are in motion- some jobs have been waiting patiently for custom brasses to arrive or particular hides to come in- some taking up to 5 weeks to arrive! It’s not just me who wants you to get in early! ⏰

Was very honoured too be one of the many demonstrations at   Ultimate Evening of Craft. We had great fun doing our own l...
30/03/2026

Was very honoured too be one of the many demonstrations at Ultimate Evening of Craft. We had great fun doing our own little excavation on an old side saddle in the ! Who knew when you came over to a saddler you’d get chatting about socio-economics and more! Man I love being a saddlery nerd 😎
πŸ“Έ by

If bridle making is learning to walk, saddle making is learning to run, harness making is learning to do an ultra marath...
16/03/2026

If bridle making is learning to walk, saddle making is learning to run, harness making is learning to do an ultra marathon- Collar Making is like learning to ride a bike underwater.

With incredibly generous funding from I was able to attend a week of collar making with John McDonald and a day of coaching education with Mark Broadbent. To be a proper harness maker you need to know more than just to copy a tug or shorten a trace- you need to understand the entire eco system that is a horse in harness and the vehicle or implement is is pulling.

Collar making has been a long standing member of Endangered Red List- as well as its associated trade of hame making. The sad fact is- one week of training doesn’t make a collar maker. It takes YEARS of constant and consistent work to become capable.

Before anyone jumps on me about you can get collars everywhere in X- yes you can- but they are not the same. They have been automated and use machines - and the quality outcomes between machine and man are night and day. You cannot compete with a master collar makers hand stuffed straw collar filled with traditionally grown rye straw.

I had a kickstart in 2019 with some of my funding from but then remember that thing called Covid? All plans went out the window. Now with thanks from the Company I’ve had the basics reestablished and am now looking forward to get practicing and look forward to undergo more training with John. When you dig deeper into collar making you suddenly realise how vast and varied it is- and it is rightly its own craft entirely.

Keep the pressure on to keep traditional crafts in the hands of makers and not machines- because one it’s gone- that’s it- a footnote in history. Remember that equines helped us build the world- we owe them nothing but the best for that.

🌟 OUT OF OFFICE 🌟 Hi folks- I’ll be unavailable this week and will get back to messages/emails on Monday. I’ve stashed m...
02/03/2026

🌟 OUT OF OFFICE 🌟
Hi folks- I’ll be unavailable this week and will get back to messages/emails on Monday. I’ve stashed myself away to make some cool things (The day you stop learning is the day you should quit!!!)

🌟 Monday Post 🌟 A nice little pair of driving reins off in the post this morning! We only hold a small amount of premade...
23/02/2026

🌟 Monday Post 🌟
A nice little pair of driving reins off in the post this morning! We only hold a small amount of premade items in stock at anyone time (and are not quick to β€˜restock’) so if something catches your eye be quick!

Address

Newtownards

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 9pm
Thursday 7am - 9pm
Friday 7am - 9pm
Saturday 7am - 9pm
Sunday 7am - 9pm

Website

http://www.theirishsaddler.com/

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