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The Longest Yarn exhibition opens with great welcome in Enniskillen
Tansy Forster with Viscount Brookeborough and Dean Kenneth Hall at the launch of the exhibition.
One of the most evocative exhibitions on tour is in St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen for the next three weeks.
The exhibition, The Longest Yarn, went on public view in the only venue in Ireland after arriving from a tour of cathedrals around England with great positive comments.
Known as 'A Thread Through History' depicts the first 80 hours and 80 days of D-Day which took place just over 80 years ago. This three-dimensional wool tapestry tells the story of the 80 days it took the Allies to liberate Paris and involved over 1000 people knitting and crocheting the military figures and buildings to construct the historic scenes.
Jean Wood from Cork who created this scene.
There are 80 individual scenes measuring a metre wide which is staged around the interior of St Macartin's Cathedral with a large part in the Regimental Chapel.
The tapestry was first unveiled at Notre Dame Church in Carentan, France on May 28 2024 and will return there in 2026 where it will be housed in a specially constructed museum.
The Longest Yarn was the creation of Tansy Forster, originally from Magherafelt and from an RAF family, who left Northern Ireland in 1972 and now resides with her husband Mike in Normandy.
On the anniversary of D-Day each year on 6 June, Tansy said her town, Carentan, had a big influx of veterans from around Europe and USA to commemorate D-Day.
She thought perhaps to commemorate in the future she would knit a topper for her garden gate but with encouragement that grew to 80 metres. Tansy explained that she researched each of the scenes and found photographs and issued these to each of the people and groups involved in knitting and crocheting the scenes.
Before opening in Enniskillen, the exhibition has been viewed by more than 150,000 people.
Tansy said The Longest Yarn was created in 18 months and was first on public display in Carentan for the 80th anniversary of D-Day before going in tour around England. The exhibition is in Enniskillen until 8 February when it goes on to Norwich. In April it will be taken to the United States for a further year.
Speaking at the launch on Monday, Dean Kenneth Hall said it was appropriate that the exhibition should come to Enniskillen as it is the only town in the United Kingdom to raise two Regiments, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.
Viscount Brookeborough said they were privileged in Fermanagh and the Diocese of Clogher to host this exhibition. He said Northern Ireland played a big part in the war.
The Longest Yarn is in St. Macartin’s Cathedral daily until the morning of 8 February from 10am to 4pm. A book to explain each of the 80 days leading up to D-Day will be on sale.
Josephine Groves from Cornwall who helped to create this scene.