History

At Padmore & Barnes today the tradition goes on with new styles and up to the minute designs, which can be viewed on this web site from our retail store.

Padmore & Barnes Ltd. have been manufacturing shoes in Ireland since 1934. It was decided then and is carried out today to make shoes of quality and distinction. The company manufactured 25,000 pairs per week, exported all over the globe. Over five hundred people were directly employed at their Kilkenny based plant and in addition hundreds of people in the surrounding areas were employed part time, handstitching the shoes in their own homes, which continued an age old tradition in Ireland.

In 1967 a decision to concentrate and specialise in the making of full moccasin hand stitched shoes was taken. Today Padmore & Barnes are internationally recognised as leaders in the field of design innovation and production techniques associated with the manufacture of casual shoes. For a period of about 30 years the company was owned by C & J Clark Ltd., and in 1987 the company was subject to a successful management buy out from Clarks and since than has continued to trade as Padmore & Barnes Ltd.

The Kilkenny plant had become and is famous as the plant where the Original Wallabee Shoes were designed and produced. The designs today were sold under Padmore & Barnes and Eirlanda Labels. Shoes produced by Padmore & Barnes were on sale in the U.K., France, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, Ireland, U.S.A. and Canada. Padmore & Barnes also produced footwear under their Customers Brands. E.g. Clarks, Paul Smiths and Ships. Etc.