Belleek is a village on the border of Northern Ireland and the South.
Pause, for a brief history and geography refresher: the island of Ireland has two parts- the north, or Northern Ireland, which is a part of Great Britain and also a member of the EU. The South, or the Republic, is independent and a member of the EU, and is strongly Roman Catholic. To confuse things, the most northerly tip of the island is Donegal County which actually belongs to the South of Ireland. Check out your map.
Back to Belleek. It’s a famous town which has made pottery and dishes since 1857 or so. We toured the working factory today. They make small batches from each mould (which they’ve stored since they began) and we saw the artists and artisans busy at work. Very interesting. I, Kris, bought a small flower vase as a souvenir. Btw, one photo shows a large kiln which slides on rollers over the racks of pottery being fired, unlike putting a tray into the oven for baking the usual way.
