Kilkenny business to feature on popular RTÉ television series
Fifty years of success sees popular Kilkenny business Nicholas Mosse Pottery feature on RTÉ’s Nationwide
Nicholas Mosse Pottery is a Kilkenny brand that is steeped in family history but defined by its quality, evident in their approach to the meticulous love of the craft.
The business is set to feature later this evening (Monday, November 2) on RTÉ’s popular Nationwide programme which will tell its story as it celebrates 50 years of success.
The Mosse family love affair with pottery began when Nick Mosse, the son of a flour merchant, was captivated by the sensuous beauty of clay and its possibilities aged only seven.
Honing his craft for many years under the stewardship of talented potters in Harrow, England, Nick developed a genuine passion for clay, devoted to shaping pieces that felt beautiful.
He met, married and fell in love with an American botanical artist, who had been drawn to Ireland by her love of the Irish countryside and the beauty of the Burren, County Clare.
Drawn together by their craft and their shared love of nature, in 1976, Nick and Susan, based in a small shed on the Mosse family land in Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny, formed their family business Nicholas Mosse Pottery. Four decades on, their business and their passions have endured.
We visit a pottery workshop in Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny celebrating 50 years of success & we meet a young Tipperary man who returned from Australia to launch a bespoke furniture-making business in the village of Moyne on #RTENationwide MON 2ND NOV @RTEOne 7pm @ZainabBoladale https://t.co/nN6jNlvmt6
— RTÉ Nationwide (@RTENationwide) November 2, 2026
Nick and Susan subsequently purchased the Mosse family mill and lovingly restored its hydro-electrical power to fire the pottery.
Despite it burning to the ground in 1985, Susan and Nick determinedly restored it to its former glory and it continues to be the hub and engine of Nicholas Mosse pottery.
Susan Mosse, the artist, is the creative force behind each original and distinctive pattern.
She takes inspiration from the hedgerows and wildflowers that surround her in the stunning countryside of Bennettsbridge and from her now famous Kilfane Garden which is open to the public.
Producing just one new pattern a year, Susan works in the peace and tranquility of her studio in Bennettsbridge. Pouring copious amounts of love and care into each design, she develops and works up her patterns using sketches.
Once a pattern is developed, Nick and his team adapt it to over 60 shapes. Early designs are put into the seconds shop and tested on customers. People use notepads to leave their response to test designs. They listen and sometimes designs don’t make the cut. New ranges are typically launched early in the year.
In recent weeks, Nicholas Mosse Pottery was also crowned the ‘Overall Winner’ at the Irish Made Awards 2026, supported by Circle Club, on the awards' 10th anniversary.
Find out more about the Nicholas Mosse Pottery story this evening at 7pm on RTÉ One. If you missed the episode, you can catch up on RTÉ Player.