Irish Playing Cards

Published July 03, 1996 Updated April 26, 2022

Playing card designs based on motifs from early Irish manuscripts and metalwork.

IrelandArt & DesignCelticCatherine TreacyPhilip MurphyCartamundiDechtire Design

“Irish Playing Cards”

Playing card designs based on motifs from early Irish manuscripts and metalwork. See the extra card

Playing card designs based on motifs from early Irish manuscripts and metalwork. Created and designed by Philip Murphy and Catherine Treacy Playing card designs based on motifs from early Irish manuscripts and metalwork. Created and designed by Philip Murphy and Catherine Treacy

Above: playing card designs based on motifs from early Irish manuscripts and metalwork. Created and designed by Philip Murphy and Catherine Treacy. Produced for Dechtire Design, made in Belgium.

avatar
1,487 Articles

By Simon Wintle

Spain • Member since February 01, 1996 • Contact

I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.

Related Articles

1780 L Day

L Day

Antique cards forming a composite pack by L.Day, Kingdom of Ireland, 1780.

Carta Mundi

Carta Mundi

Carta Mundi was founded in Turnhout on 27 June 1970 by pooling the production and sales facilities o...

2014 Cultúrlán

Cultúrlán

Celtic myth playing cards inspired by the rich Celtic pantheon of mythological Gods, Goddesses, and ...

1800 Transformation of Playing Cards

Transformation of Playing Cards

The best-known fantasies with playing cards are the ‘Transformation’ cards. Hand-drawing ‘transforma...

1940 Feardiadh at the Ford jig-saw

Feardiadh at the Ford jig-saw

Feardiadh at the Ford jig-saw book with illustration by Kathleen Ennis, c.1940.

Irish Souvenir

Irish Souvenir

Irish souvenir playing cards. The Joker has the inscription W.O., Dublin.

2011 Celtic Journey

Celtic Journey

Celtic Journey playing cards - where art and culture meet - designed by Carmen G. Carballeira, 2011

2001 Art:pack in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation

Art:pack in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation

A deck of cards to raise awareness of the Irish Hospice Foundation.

Production Methods for Small Scale Editions

Production Methods for Small Scale Editions

Some alternative approaches to producing small, hand-made editions of playing cards

Balázs Pál Nagy's Playing Cards

Balázs Pál Nagy's Playing Cards

Balázs Pál Nagy's Playing Cards

About Catherine Kelly

About Catherine Kelly

Catherine Kelly, M.A. Paint and Print, B.A. History of Art and Fine Art Painting, is an artist worki...

1919 Irish Heroic

Irish Heroic

The costumes and details of this pack are in the spirit of "The Heroic Period of Irish History".

Playing Cards from Ireland

Playing Cards from Ireland

During the nineteenth century playing cards were being produced in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.

Ian Roth’s Unique playing cards

Ian Roth’s Unique playing cards

Ian Roth’s Unique playing cards

2004 Pippoglyph

Pippoglyph

Pippoglyph Playing Cards by Ben Crenshaw © 2004

1936 Karlis Padegs

Karlis Padegs

Karlis Padegs (1911-1940) was a Latvian artist who designed 17 playing cards in 1936 - joker, aces, ...

Regarding the designs of playing cards

Regarding the designs of playing cards

The quality of playing card designs often deteriorates with time…

South American Gaucho Playing Cards

South American Gaucho Playing Cards

Gaucho Playing Cards from South America

Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts

“Queen of Hearts” by Josie Callipari, winner of the Brian Tucker Accounting Desert Fantasia Award 20...