Cable knit sweater

In Dublin there are a number of shops around Grafton Street and Trinity College selling Irish knit sweaters. Be aware that you get what you pay for. If you want a real, handmade Irish knit sweater you will pay for it. Especially if it is one of the heavier and more intricate patterns. Note whether the sweater is handmade in Ireland or machine made in, well, somewhere other than Ireland.

We were advised to buy our sweaters on the west coast and islands which we did. Beautiful, very warm.

My wife bought several in Kilronan (Aran). As a knitter, she found the products were cheaper than the yarn needed to create them. I have a drawer full of her experiments, and she wears the purchased ones.

The Aran Sweater Market in Dublin has the cable knit sweaters made in Ireland. The hand made ones are probably going to be 150+ euros.

Since you'll be investing a fair amount of money to get a good quality sweater, make very sure you have the godfather's correct size and are familiar with any color preferences. By "size," I mean his actual body measurements and/or the garment measurements of a sweater that fits him well. Bring a tape measure to the stores. Trying to return or exchange overseas would be a big hassle.

Ennis has a place called The Woolen Market, as well as other places.

About 25 years ago, I bought a cable-knit sweater on Inishmore Island in the Aran Islands chain and don the garment still. The island chain and western Ireland overall are probably the sheep capitals of the world!

I bought my Irish sweater at a seaside shop in County Donegal---really like the sweater and have a fond memory of the location, but not the name of the actual shop.