Overview
Cassandra Hand arrived in Clones in October 1847, in the middle of what locals still call Black ‘47, the worst year of the Famine. To keep families off the workhouse road she set up a home lace-making scheme, and the craft it produced – Clones lace – sold well enough that its proceeds paid, in 1859, for the school that now carries her name. That building on Abbey Lane is the Cassandra Hand Folk & Famine Centre, a free museum in Clones that tells two linked stories: the Famine (An Gorta Mór) and the lace that grew out of it.
The setting does a lot of the work. Clones Round Tower stands in view of the front windows, with the ruins of Clones Abbey on one side and a Norman motte and bailey on the other, so the centre makes a sensible first stop before walking the town’s monastic sites.
The story of Cassandra Hand and Clones lace
Cassandra Hand was born in 1809, the ninth child of the Molyneux family, and grew up at Losely Park in Guildford, Surrey. She came to Clones in October 1847 with her husband Thomas, a Church of Ireland rector, and their seven children, at the peak of the Famine. Faced with destitution she thought traditional relief could not fix, she introduced a home industry that could employ women, men and children alike.
Hand adapted a slow Italian needle-lace technique into a faster crochet-style method worked with a specialised ‘famine hook’. The result was Clones lace, recognisable by its grape-leaf motif, the raised ‘Clones knot’, and rows of tiny rolled dots. It found buyers well beyond Ireland, worn by royalty and sold worldwide, and by 1910 Clones was the centre of Irish lace-making, employing hundreds of local families. The profits from those sales built the Round Tower Girls and Infant School in 1859 – the same building you visit today, which fell into other uses before Clones Community Forum renovated it in 2006 and added the Famine panels in 2018.
What to see and do
The museum is small, and most people spend under an hour here. If your family has Monaghan roots, the genealogy help is the real reason to come; otherwise the lace showcase is the thing to prioritise.
- Famine exhibition – Artefacts, photographs and personal accounts trace the 1840s in Clones and the setting-up of Hand’s relief scheme.
- Clones lace showcase – Original 19th-century pieces beside contemporary work, with panels decoding the famine-hook technique and the symbolic motifs.
- Genealogy assistance – Staff have access to birth, marriage and death records and will help visitors tracing family connections in the area. Anne and Josie handle enquiries; email clonescommunityforum@gmail.com to arrange help in advance.
- Guided town walks – Hour-plus walks depart from the centre, taking in the Round Tower, the remains of the 12th-century abbey of Saints Peter and Paul, and the Norman motte.
- Venue hire – The restored schoolrooms take talks, meetings, classes and parties; groups can arrange a talk, tour and refreshments, and school groups can dress in period costume for a classroom re-enactment.
Events through the year
- April – St Tiarnach’s Feast Day commemoration, marking the town’s patron saint with music and a short talk.
- October – Cassandra Hand Rose Competition, with winning entries shown in the main hall.
- December – Winter Fuel Draw and Christmas Craft Fair, a market of handmade lace, woollen goods and local produce, with raffle proceeds going toward the centre’s heating.
Most events are free; some craft workshops carry a small booking fee.
Around Clones
The centre sits inside a tight cluster of heritage sites, all within a short walk:
- Clones Abbey – The ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian abbey, the round tower, and the Celtic high cross.
- Clones town – The wider monastic complex of Saints Peter and Paul that once governed the area.
- Clones Lace Museum – Housed in the Ulster Canal Stores, a dedicated textile museum with a larger collection of historic lace and production tools, for anyone who wants to go deeper than the centre’s showcase.
Practical information
| Service | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Monday – Friday 10:00-16:00 (May – October) or by appointment; open daily during the summer months. |
| Admission | Free to the exhibitions; craft workshops may carry a small fee. |
| Location | Abbey Lane, Clones, Co Monaghan, H23 PC60. |
| Contact | Anne – 086 835 8210; Josie – 086 168 5100 |
| Accessibility | Level entrance, wheelchair-friendly toilets, designated disabled parking. |
| Transport | Off the N54, with free parking outside; the town bus stop and Clones railway station are both a couple of minutes’ walk. |
One honest caveat: the centre’s own website is long dormant, and opening outside the May–October weekday window runs on appointments, so ring Anne or Josie before you travel, particularly for a group, a genealogy session or a guided walk. Do that and staff can tailor a tour with period costume and a re-enactment of a day in the 1840s classroom.