This Irish lace fan was a wedding gift to the future Queen Mary. The donor was Lord Houghton, Viceroy of Ireland from 1892 until 1895, when he was created Earl (later Marquess) of Crewe. The lace leaf was made by the Youghal Co-operative Lace Society at the Presentation Convent, County Cork, for the Irish Industries Association. The original fan box has survived, indicating that the fan was made up by Duvelleroy.

After the Irish potato famine of 1846 a number of small industries were set up in Ireland, almost all by the wives of Protestant clergymen or by Roman Catholic communities, in an attempt to establish new sources of income. The manufacture of lace was considered an appropriate way for the female labour force to be employed. One of the first lace manufactories to be set up was that at the Presentation Convent, Youghal, County Cork, 'where in 1846 Mother Mary Ann Smith unpicked some Italian needle lace in order to learn the technique. She began to teach the craft to the local children and in 1852, the Convent established a lace school.' By the early 1880s there was some need for improvement in standards, and it was at this time that the distinctive needle lace now associated with Youghal was developed. The designs worked in lace were devised by the nuns themselves, who had received training from the Board of Education; they also had close ties with the Cork School of Art.

A large number of fan leaves was produced at the Presentation Convent. Of those intended for royal recipients, the present fan has been considered 'one of the most successful in point of design and richness of effect'. In 1896 another Youghal leaf was produced - with a crowned M in the centre - as a wedding gift to Queen Mary's sister-in-law Princess Maud, third daughter of the Prince of Wales. The Youghal lace fan presented to Queen Alexandra in 1903, on the occasion of her first visit to Ireland following the coronation, includes an Irish harp in the centre and a ribbon inscribed (in Irish) 'I cool, I refresh, and I can keep secrets'. In 1905 the King's niece, Princess Margaret of Connaught, received a wedding gift of a Youghal lace fan which had won a prize at the Dublin exhibition in 1897. Youghal lace was also used for other articles for royal use. In the year of her Diamond Jubilee, 1897, Queen Victoria received the gift of a shawl of Youghal lace. And Youghal lace-makers made a lace train for Queen Mary to wear at the time of the Delhi Durbar in 1911.

Text adapted from Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection 2005