Kiernan, John (1925-1955)
Kiernan, John
Arbutus Cottage, Gap of Dunloe, Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland; cabinet maker, carver and inlayer (fl. c.1885-1955)
Originally based in Killarney, James French built the Arbutus and folklore has it he moved his workshops to the countryside to avoid the workers drinking to excess. The Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) visited Arbutus in April 1885 [The Illustrated London News, 10 March 1888].
The major part of Kiernan's manufacture was small items designed for Killarney retailers to sell to tourists, but he also produced larger items of furniture to order. This included a games table for backgammon, chess and cribbage, made in 1929 for Father Walsh, a curate at Tuogh, costing £29, now displayed at Muckross House (illustrated below). The top has a central display in an oval frame of Muckross Abbey.

Games table made by John O'Donoghue, 1929. B. Austen, Irish Arts Review Yearbook , 1996, Vol. 12 (1996), p. 48.
The business remained active and by 1946 Kiernan's son and daughter, John Peter and Eleanor were employed. This is said to be the year substantial-sized furniture production ended. Objects produced thereafter included boxes, trays and portable desks, decorated with Killarney area buildings such as Muckross Abbey and Ross Castle, inlaid in lighter woods, with detail executed with pyrography, also called pokerwork. These were provided with borders reflecting the foliage of the arbutus tree, white holly, and national emblems such as the shamrock.

John Peter Kiernan, c. 1946
John Donoghue died sometime after 1946 and John Peter Kiernan passed away in 1948. The business was continued by the family, however, a fire destroyed the workshop and stock in 1952. The business never recovered from this set back though production of some smaller items such as boxes, trays and portable desks continued until the mid 1950s. Eleanor Kiernan subsequently married and moved to England. John Kiernan died in 1970, at the age of 79.
Sources: Irish Arts Review Yearbook, Vol 12 (1996), pp. 45-55; Austen, Tunbridge Ware and Related European Woodwares (2001), pp. 185-88; family correspondence 2023.
Occupation
Ornamentation/Design