Dublin, Co. Dublin
Rathborne's Candles is the oldest candle manufacturer in continuous existance in the world. It was established in Dublin in 1488. In the Middle Ages, it supplied candles to Ireland's many monasteries. In the seventeenth Century, the company won the contract for lighting Dublin. The premesis has moved several times in that period, but even today thousands of beeswax candles are still handcrafted by Rathborne's master chandlers using the age-old techniques of repeatedly pouring wax over wicks hanging from iron hoops.
