Charlie Mallon and Helen Keys have set themselves a daunting task. The Tyrone couple are seeking to help revive Ulster’s celebrated tradition of growing and processing flax.

The province has a long association with flax growing and linen production. Indeed, the exponential growth in linen spinning and weaving in 19th century Ulster provided a crucial springboard for the region’s industrialisation.

More than 43,000 people were employed in linen weaving in Belfast by 1870, when Ulster led the world in the manufacture of the fine cloth.

Meanwhile, flax became an important cash crop for the province’s farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries, enabling tenants to move beyond the subsistence agriculture practiced in much of Ireland during the period.

However, competition from Belgian, French and Russian linen gradually eroded the dominant position of Ulster’s linen mills, and the industry went into inexorable decline from the 1920s.

Even so, the echoes of Ulster’s linen heritage remain, and it is this that Mallon and Keys are looking to rekindle.

From Cookstown, Co Tyrone, the pair fell into their passion for flax by accident, when they couldn’t source Irish-grown linen bags for bronze artwork, which Charlie was producing at the time.

“We decided to grow flax ourselves on Charlie’s farm and produce our own linen bags. We thought this can’t be too difficult, not realising what we were getting ourselves into,” admitted Keys.

Their first flax crop seven years ago put paid to this blasé attitude, but didn’t quench their enthusiasm.

“We’ve made loads of mistakes. We planted a seed variety of flax [for making linseed oil] rather than a fibre variety in the first year, and put it on far too sparsely so we couldn’t see crop with the weeds,” Keys recalled.

To make matters worse, they didn’t know how to harvest or pull the flax, or how to process it.

At a recent Agricultural History Society of Ireland conference, the couple outlined how they have overcome these various challenges and used the growing and processing of flax to boost their farm income.

They now grow around three acres of flax each year, with the crop generating more income than all other activities on their 50ac farm. The ground is ploughed, disced and harrowed before the flax is sown – usually with a fiddle.

“The preparation of the ground is key to keeping down the weeds. We also under-sow with clover to keep the weeds under control,” Keys explained.

“Flax for linen traditionally takes 100 days to grow. We plant in early May. By mid-July the first flowers appear and the field is absolutely buzzing with insects and flocks of linnets,” Keys said.

“The crop doesn’t need any pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or fertiliser – no inputs at all other than sunshine and rain. We just leave it alone until it’s ready,” she added.

Process

The crop is generally pulled by volunteers – students, researchers, customers and flax enthusiasts – who are keen to support the revival of the industry. The flax is pulled in large bunches which are called beets, tied in sheafs and then stooked and allowed to dry in the field.

Once dried, the flax is ready for processing. Mallon and Keys have sourced some old equipment which they managed to recommission and this has helped mechanise parts of the processing, but it remains a labour-intensive endeavour.

Processing involves a number of different actions. Firstly, the flax is retted or soaked to break down the gum which binds the fibre, and it is then redried.

After retting the flax is scutched, which separates the long fibres of the plant from its woody parts. After scutching, the flax is then hackled or combed to remove any remaining chaff. Following hackling the flax has been transformed into fine line fibre and shorter fibre or tow, both of which can go for spinning or weaving. But since there are no commercial linen spinners left in Northern Ireland or Britain, and few weaving businesses, Mallon and Keys sell most of their flax as scutched and hackled fibre to hand spinners from around the world.

“And, so far, we’ve had some lovely feedback and lots of repeat orders,” Keys said.

The farm produces around a tonne per acre of raw dried flax, and this is sold for between £6/kg (€6.90/kg) and £220/kg (€253/kg), depending on the stage of processing.

Rough tow flax fibre sells for £7.60/kg (€8.74/kg), good tow flax fibre costs £29.70/kg (€34.15/kg), scutched flax fibre sells for £39.60/kg (€45.54/kg) and hand hackled fine line fibre sells for £198/kg (€230/kg).

The scale of Mallon Linen’s operation means that the best returns for their flax fibres is at the very top end of the market.

A number of the top British and Irish fashion houses – such as Alexander McQueen and Kindred of Ireland – have been in contact with Mallon Linen with a view to sourcing product.

The fact that there are no chemicals used on the flax is a “big selling point” with these top fashion houses, Keys explained. Looking to the future, Keys and Mallon are not interested in “scaling up their operation into a big industry”.

They would prefer to see sustainable flax growing and linen production revived in Ulster by getting other farmers “to replicate what we are doing”, Keys said.