Seeing as how Pricewatch is always banging on about the need to shop early and shop local, we thought we’d better publish our list of excellent Irish-based retailers doing the business online a couple of weeks earlier this year. So you’ve no excuse not to get yourself sorted well in advance of Christmas.
Check out the full list of 101 of the best Irish websites to buy gifts from this Christmas for more.
Gifts
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This site has a goal of helping people understand how they can make little changes to benefit their pocket and their planet, with a range of sustainable products.
Fond of the sea? Or do you know someone who is? Maybe you – or they – don’t like to be cold, or at least cold outside the water. Here you will find changing robes, beach ponchos and dry bags.
This is the place for “gratitude, manifestation packs and a high vibe sweatshirt”. It focuses on things “required to spend time taking stock of what you are grateful for, or what you want to manifest in your life to become the best version of who you are”.
This family-owned operation is a one-stop shop for local, lasting and lovely things. Stocking more than 150 Irish makers and artists, from knitwear to jewellery to ceramic art, they also make their own hand-painted pottery.
georginaohanlonillustration.com
Artist Georgina O’Hanlon creates and sells high-end silk scarves and fine art prints inspired by the Irish landscape. This year, she has conjured up the “most snugly woven blankets, infused with my hand-drawn artworks inspired by the magical surroundings of the Phoenix Park”, with some proceeds going to the Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin.
Located in the Burren, as the name might suggest, these folk make all 180 of their products on-site. Shoppers can expect to find perfumes, organic skincare, candles and herbal teas.
A family-run business based on the edge of Connemara, specialising in soy wax candle collections, as well as homewares and furniture.
It’s heartening to see the increasing prominence of eco-friendly gifts on this list. Here’s another one. This company sells “skin-loving products, made with natural ingredients, and without unnecessary waste”.
We’ve long been fans of this social enterprise which matches emerging designers with makers from marginalised backgrounds around Ireland, who are supported to find employment and develop their skills. It gets better each year.
Ethically and locally-made weighted pillows that promise to help adults and children sleep more soundly and for longer, as well as reduce pain and anxiety.
Looking for gifts with an Irish personality? These folk will have you covered. Quirky Irish Icons “capture the culture and fun of Ireland across a unique selection of frames, magnets and gifts for you and your loved ones! They are lovingly designed and handmade by Dublin grandma Patricia Pierce.”
Set up by people keen to “do our part to help reduce unnecessary chemicals and plastics in the world”. They aim to local makers and are inspired by the Scandinavian concepts of hygge (which you have heard of) and lagom (which means not too much, nor too little, just right).
Kerry-based shop set up by two sisters with retail running through their veins, as they follow in the footsteps of their great-great-grandmother. Chances are she wasn’t selling quite as eclectic a range of gifts as this, mind you.
One of the big champions of keeping it green in recent years, this site has a vast array of fashion, gifts, art jewellery and whatever you’re having yourself.
Maypole Lane is an “independent, Irish business based out of Cork” which sells all manner of cool looking things that kids (and their parents) will love.
What does this place have to say about itself? “Well-designed wall art is a great addition to any home, but travel posters bring an extra dimension [and] serve simply to say: ‘This is where I come from’.”
From books to beauty products to tasty artisanal delights, there’s a whole world of potential Christmas presents out there online. Photograph: iStockphoto
This site promises “remarkable gifts and bright ideas” and it delivers, both literally and figuratively. A great place to go if you are looking for the most imaginative of presents, to suit most budgets.
In their own words: “Memorable gifts to last a lifetime. All beautifully wrapped and shipped by our wonderful team in Co Clare.” It covers everything from socks to tech, with presents big and small.
A supercool shop with an equally cool ethos seeking to provide “a range of timeless products that steer clear from trends, instead offering functionality, good design and longevity”. It has a list of designers longer than a Aran jumper’s arm, but we think it can be summed up in five words we found on the site: “Nice things. That is all.”
Sligo shop with jewellery, clothes, ceramics, art, skincare and children (or at least things that children might like).
This might not be the first site you think of when starting your shopping, but it does have all manner of nice things, and when we looked in the middle of last week there was a 15 per cent discount across the board.
Soy candles made with sustainable and natural ingredients in the maker’s Waterford home. The range is “inspired by my family and love of baking”.
This Galway shop gets better and better with unusual jewellery, art homewares and other fun stuff.
The home of luxurious artisan perfumes and candles inspired by the Irish landscape.
The people at Rathbornes have been making candles for a very, very long time, so you’d expect them to be quite good at it and have a large range by now. And you’d be right.
The place to go for the cleverest of games and toys for the smartest of children of all ages. Some funky stuff for adults, too.
It’s never too slate to get a gift that will last forever. This site has coasters, cheeseboards and candlestick holders etched with some of the most iconic images of Ireland you might imagine.
Just a really good shop that actually puts the customer front and centre, and deserves all our support for that.
A Waterford-based luxury book subscription and gifting operation that delivers gorgeous gifts, beautifully presented with wonderful new books, delicious chocolate and artisan surprises.
A place to cover homewares and clothes as well as jewellery and accessories. And that is just for starters.
From “house socks” to eye pillows, this site has all sorts of stuff your loved ones might need without knowing they need it. And as the name might suggest, it’s all Irish.
Design Ireland is a platform for home-grown designers selling everything from homewares to clothes, jewellery, accessories and beauty products.
Have you a favourite lyric or poem? Some lines from a movie? Or something you’ve written yourself? The Word Bird offers personalised and original pre-printed word art by Susan Brambell.
Again, in their own words: “We created the shop that we wished existed in our hometown [Waterford]. Then we took it online for the world to enjoy.”
Jando, a printmaking studio in Smithfield, has a neat line in architectural and landmark-themed screen prints. They have a new print this year of the Aviva Stadium for the rugby or (less likely at the moment) football fan in your world.
A Clonakilty-based site where you will find some beautiful, ethically focused Irish craft and design and excellent eco toys.
Another site full of unique gifts from makers and designers across Ireland.
Candles, soaps, leather handbags, wallets and gloves, art, jewellery, woollen scarves and throws, tweed hats, fleece jackets, felt art, cool jigsaws and more.
