Inis Meáin Knitting Company is located on Inis Meáin, the middle and most remote of the three Aran Islands. The company was founded in 1976 by Tarlach de Blácam and Áine Ní Chonghaile. The original aim of the knitting company was to provide employment for young locals to help stem the plight of immigration. As the years passed Tarlach and Áine realised in order to sustain and scale the business they needed to look beyond the local population and export to the mainland – they had true global ambitions.
Inis Meáin clothing is inspired by traditional Aran knitwear worn by the local fishermen. It continues to honour this heritage producing beautiful and sophisticated garments which are now exported across the globe. Inis Meáin Knitting is now stocked alongside premium designer brands on 5th Avenue and seen in designer boutiques in Milan, Paris Or Tokyo.
Running this business on a remote island does not come without challenges, one of the main difficulties highlighted by Tarlach is the lack of broadband infrastructure, commenting on this de Blácam states “We have waited ten years for the national broadband plan and we cannot wait any longer, after searching the market we finally engaged with Viatel and they deployed 100Mbps broadband in weeks not years, we are now in a position to realise our digital ambitions”.
Damien McCann Director of Sales and Marketing in Viatel stated, “We are delighted to work with Tarlach providing a service which will help scale his business to its full potential. The slow rollout of the national broadband plan is hindering hundreds of business in rural Ireland like the knitting company and our team thrive on connecting business in perceived difficult to reach locations”
