Breen Carriages Ltd

Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford

Documenting our Heritage

Breen Carriages was established as one of the finest manufactures of horse drawn carriage in the world. From Co. Wexford, carriages had found their way to the places where the west was won, to continental Europe, and to Japan. Breen Carriages can be seen hurtling around Hollywood film sets - stage coaches, gigs and brakes that had been built in far-off Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Apparently American actor James Cagney, owned an Enniscorthy carriage, and was an expert at driving a four-in-hand.

This elegant Irish alternative to the internal combustion engine for occasions of ceremony or leisure has been appreciated far around the world. On its way to the Far East in 1989 was the landau, a fastidious-looking canoe on wheels which British monarchs had used for generations to tour the race course of Royal Ascot. A fine specimen of Wexford craftsmanship, it was destined for use by the Japanese Racing Association, which commissioned the vehicle through Irishman, Jack Doyle, working in Japan.

In Enniscorthy, Colum Breen, the man in charge, said that "they could make every conveyance to which a horse or horses could be harnessed" People who owned horse-drawn vehicles were of the same temperament as vintage car collectors, frowning on the mass-produced article. Craftsmen like Breen said that they could easily recognise the characteristics of each other's work as clearly as if it was autographed.

Breen insisted that coach-building was actually five trades in one: that of the wheelwright, the body-builder, the coach-painter, the upholsterer and the coachsmith who made the metal back-bone, axles, turn-table, frame and steps for the carriage. He said that a man was skilful, indeed, if he could emerge with this conglomeration of crafts and be able to call himself a coachbuilder after seven years.

Elm was being used for the centre of the coach-wheel because it was regarded as a 'rubbery' wood, resilient ash for the rim, and stout-hearted oak for the spokes. Ten to twelve coats of paint were applied to the body-work, brushed on rather than sprayed to give a mirror-like finish.

The gig, which the Breens made and which were once favoured by the clergy and doctors, is a 17th century English invention, and its fore-runner was the French caleche or chaise, a word corrupted in America to 'shay.'

The Breen factory is now abandoned and derelict.