The Slieve Bawn Co-operative, also known as the Slieve Bawn Co-operative Handcraft Market, was a crafts co-operative based in Strokestown, County Roscommon, Ireland. Its visual identity is documented through a logo created around 1974 by Peter Dabinett, a designer associated with the Kilkenny Design Workshops, the influential Irish state-sponsored design body established in the 1960s.[1][2]
Design and History
The Slieve Bawn Co-operative Handcraft Market was officially opened in Strokestown on 20 May 1968, with a commemorative booklet produced for the occasion.[3] The co-operative was active through the 1970s, with RTÉ Archives documenting its Handcrafts Market Christmas fair in December 1979.[4] By 1981, the co-operative’s production branch, Strokestown Crafts, was operating from the new IDA-supported Strokestown Craft Cluster, manufacturing crafts for the export market.[5]
The logo for the Slieve Bawn Craft Co-operative was designed by Peter Dabinett, circa 1974.[1] Dabinett was a designer at the Kilkenny Design Workshops, where he also created the Consumer Affairs symbol in 1980 and the Telecom Éireann logo.[6][7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The co-operative’s name references Slieve Bawn, a hill in County Roscommon lying between Strokestown and Ballyleague.[8] The logo itself is described in archival documentation as a hand-drawn mark, reflecting the craft-based nature of the organisation it represented.[1]
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