15 Best Shopping in The Northwest, Ireland

Factory knitwear from €100 to €320 is for sale here, as well as pottery, tweeds, jewelry, and gifts. There's also a good selection of hand-knit Aran sweaters and cardigans available.

Stores such as Campbells are treasure troves of ready-to-wear tweeds—with sweaters from around €100.

In addition to Irish knitwear, Carraig Donn carries pottery, glassware, linens, and Aran knits for children.

The upscale deli Cosgrove and Son, now in the fourth generation, sells everything from duck foie gras to carrageen dried seaweed (a local cure for coughs and colds). Stock up here for a picnic with excellent muesli, roast ham, local cheeses, salads, and peanut rayu sauce.

Explore this small cluster of workshops where you can buy handwoven goods, jewelry, and glass from young, local craftspeople. You can even watch the items being made Monday to Saturday 9:30 am–5:30 pm. The Aroma Café in the Craft Village is a top-class spot for homemade cakes and breads, and also serves dishes with a Mexican twist. The Village is closed on Sunday in the spring and summer and during the winter months it closes on Sunday and Monday.

Through the work of one of the last weavers in Donegal this store showcases handwoven tweeds, from scarves for €25 to capes for €245, from Ard an Rátha and other parts of the country.

For the best selection of local history books on Donegal and Ireland in general, Ordnance Survey maps, and travel guides, as well as music and Celtic jewelry, the Four Masters Bookshop is a great place to browse.

High-quality handwoven Donegal tweed and hand-knit Aran sweaters are on sale at this factory shop, on the Killybegs Road, on the outskirts of town. After a 10-minute factory tour during which you can watch the hand-weaving and knitting processes, the Weavers coffee shop is an ideal place for a break.

In the same building as the Dock Arts Centre you'll find the Leitrim Design House, which promotes modern Irish craftsmanship. It sells bespoke fine art, original prints, jewelry, ceramics, glass, textiles, and natural cosmetics as well as stationery and greetings cards, all helping to conserve the rich cultural identity of Leitrim.

The main hand-weaving store in town, trading for more than 150 years, Magee's carries renowned private-label tweeds for both men and women (jackets, hats, scarves, suits, and more), as well as pottery, linen, crystal, and Irish-made jams, preserves, and chocolates. An upstairs café, the Weaver's Loft, serves hot food at lunchtime as well as snacks, teas, and coffees.

Carrick's architectural gem, the Market Yard Centre is in the heart of the town; known in 1839 as the Shambles, it is now home to a popular weekly farmers' market (Thursday 10–2) where you can buy everything from freshly picked vegetables and French breads to succulent cuts of organic meats.

The only health-food shop hereabouts, Simple Simon's sells whole food, essential oils, and other whole-earth items, as well as breads and cakes from the kitchen on the premises. A small café serves herbal teas and coffee.

The Cat & the Moon specializes in eclectic and stylish Irish-made crafts, jewelry, pottery, skin care, and scarves; it's named after the play by W. B. Yeats. Upstairs is the Hamilton Gallery, featuring work by contemporary Irish artists.

Irish for "land of the ever-young," Tír na nÓg sells organic foods, including local cheeses and honeys, and other health-oriented items. A sister store across the street sells cards and posters.

Hidden-away Trinity Rare Books is run by a garrulous Canadian with a depth of knowledge of both the Irish and international book market. Five hundred of the owner's rare books are available here. The shop is also helping revive the vinyl record market and stocks many 1970s and ’80s pop classics. More than 1,000 of the shop's records for sale can be viewed on site.