Miscellaneous Inventions

Other Irish inventions include perforated stamps, invented in the 1850s by a Dublin printer, Henry Archer - before then, each stamp had to be cut from a sheet. The latch-hook needle for rug making was the brainchild of a Co Laois entrepreneur, Robert Flower, in 1903. Flower also invented improved automatic looms and easy-to-use handlooms designed for people with disabilities. His latch-hooked needle had a hinged latch that held the yarn so that, with one quick movement, the yard could be pulled through and knotted.