Irish Sugan armchair

Irish Sugan armchair made from Ash, either local or from a sawmill in Co Meath.

There are no metal fixings, no nails or screws, the spindles are through morticed into the legs and secured with oak wedges.

Irish sugan armchairs are well recorded and many examples from the nineteenth century survive.

I’ve been making sugan chairs in West County Clare for over thirty years. Probably never made two identical because of the hand-made nature of each individual chair.

With elbow chairs, I uisually make them to suit the new owner. Not exactly like being measured for a new suit but not everybody is the same size.

When the chair frame is finished, I leave the wood in its natural state or if requested, I can treat with boiled linseed oil and buff with beeswax.

Paint is traditional for Irish sugan chairs but paint tends to take the nature from the wood so I woulod prefer not.

For the cord seat seat I usually use Seagrass becasue it is twisted from very long fibres so it doesn’t stretch out.

Alternatively, the seat can be woven from Bullrush, twisted into a cord.