Welcome to the Irish Woodturners Guild
40 Years promoting the craft of Woodturning in Ireland
Find your Local Chapter Today
With 18 clubs across Ireland, find yours today!
Latest News
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The Worlds’ Oldest Woodturning Organisation
The Irish Woodturners' Guild (IWG) was founded in 1983 and is the worlds’ oldest woodturning association. Since then, it has flourished to over 450 active members, and 18 Chapters across the island of Ireland. The main objective of the IWG is to promote the craft of woodturning.
Chapters are the lifeblood of the Guild and in many instances are the first contact points for new members. Chapters organise monthly meetings, with live turning demonstrations, and welcome new members as well as members from other Chapters.
The highlight of the year is the National Seminar, a two-day event where members gather together to watch world renowned turners demonstrate, socialise, and to take part in the annual ‘Chapter Challenge’ competition.
Woodturning is believed to have developed around 1500 b.c. in Ancient Egypt, with the earliest definitive record coming from a tomb carving dated 320 b.c. The lathe is thought to be one of mankind’s first machines, with versions used throughout history from primitive hand driven mechanisms through to today’s precision engineered models.
IWG Chair, Imelda Connolly presents an Irish Ash Platter to Uachtarán na hÉireann, President Michael D. Higgins and his wife, Sabina, at Bloom Festival 2023.
Ash Project
Ash die-back is a serious disease of Ash trees caused by the fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. The disease was first detected in Ireland in 2012 and is now prevalent throughout the island, this will likely lead to the death of most Ash trees over the next 20 years.
To highlight this critical issue and create a lasting body of work of native Ash pieces, each guild member will be invited to participate and create a turned piece for TT40.
To Register your piece for consideration in the exhibition, click on the “Register Here” button. Happy Turning!
Latest Chapter Updates
Updates from Chapters across the country on monthly meetings, events, and competitions! Click the items below to read more.
Live From the Shed Series
During the Covid crisis all in-person meetings of the IWG were postponed. The Limerick & District Chapter took things online and began running the ‘Live from the Shed’ series once a month. These online demos were open to all members of the guild, and the general public, and proved to be a great success - With viewers logging in from as far away as the USA!