Erris (1940) Label "Made in Eire"

Erris Toys / Tara Toys / Soltoys Ltd

Company History (1938 – 1979):

Initially called Erris Toys until 1953, then Tara Toys manufactured soft toys at a factory set up by Gaeltacht Services Division in County Mayo.

In 1938, Ireland’s Gaeltacht Services Division (GSD), a government department established a new toy industry with “Gaeltarra Eiremann” which means “goods of the Irish speaking part of Ireland”. Three factories were allocated to the department: one for dolls, one for lead toys and one for soft toys. Each factory had it’s own management, subsidised by the State and all the Administration and distribution was carried out by Civil Servants. This created new jobs in the rural areas of the country’s Irish speaking region.

The factory at Elly Bay in county Mayo was making soft toys which included a wide range of teddy bears initially from imported mohair and other natural pile fabrics but later increasingly from synthetic materials.

Exports rose enormously during WWII as Ireland remained neutral, and production increased each year until the factory closed in 1969. During this time Ireland exported a large number of bears worldwide. The bears resembled the style and design of British bears of the period.

The toys were marketed from Dublin until 1969 when their Head Offices moved to county Galway. Production was then in Crolly factory in county Donegal, where soft toys were made under the name Soltoys Ltd until 1979.

This is a 1940s Erris Toys Label. Red embroidery on white. This company became Tara toys in 1953 

Description