Every great design begins with a story.
This one begins in Atticall, in the heart of the Mourne Mountains.
For generations, the local GAA club has been more than a place to play. It was where neighbours became teammates, where parents coached sons and daughters, and where victories were celebrated and defeats quietly accepted before everyone gathered around the kettle afterwards. The pitch is the heartbeat of the parish. Every hurley and football carried onto that field tells its own story.
In the evenings I would watch as the next generation of players walked down the road carrying their sticks to the field. I imagined those hurleys standing together, supporting something new — just as generations of players had supported one another on the pitch.
That simple thought became an idea.
An idea became sketches.
Sketches became craftsmanship.
And craftsmanship became The Cut Stool.
Selecting the Ash
Ash has always been the timber of choice for hurleys. Its combination of strength, flexibility and resilience is what gives the stick its distinctive feel in the hand. The same qualities make it ideal for furniture that needs to last.
We carefully select solid ash hardwood, choosing pieces with character in the grain and the natural curves that will later form the legs. Each board is inspected by hand. We look for timber that carries the same spirit as a well-made hurley — tough enough for the game, beautiful enough for the home.
Because ash is a living material, no two pieces are identical. That is part of the point. Every Cut Stool carries the unique marks of the tree it came from.
Shaping the Legs to Echo the Hurley
The most distinctive feature of The Cut Stool is the shape of its legs. They are modelled directly on the bas — the curved blade — of a traditional Irish hurley.
We mark out the curves by hand, following the natural flow of the grain wherever possible. The legs are then cut, shaped and refined until they capture the familiar silhouette that anyone who has ever held a hurley will recognise instantly. The three legs splay outward for stability while creating a clean, modern profile that feels both sculptural and practical.
This is the moment when a piece of timber stops being just wood and starts becoming something that remembers the game.
Hand-Finishing Process
Once the structure is complete, each stool is finished entirely by hand. The surface is sanded smooth, the edges softened, and a natural teak oil is applied in thin coats. The oil brings out the warmth of the ash, deepens the grain, and provides a durable, low-maintenance finish that will improve with age.
There is no mass production here. Every stool spends time under the hands of the maker. Small variations in the grain, the curve of a leg, or the final sheen are not flaws — they are proof that the piece was made by a person, not a machine.
Why Three Legs?
A three-legged stool has a quiet intelligence. On uneven floors — the kind found in older Irish homes — three legs will always find stability where four can rock. The design is simple, honest and ancient. It is also practical: lighter to move, easier to store, and visually lighter in a room.
In the case of The Cut Stool, the three legs also carry symbolic weight. They stand like three hurleys leaning together after a match — separate yet supporting one another. That image stayed with me from those evenings watching players walk to the pitch, and it remains at the heart of the design.
From Pitch to Home
The Cut Stool is not a replica of a hurley. It is a translation. The strength, the curve, the grain, and the quiet pride of the game are carried into a new form that belongs in everyday life.
It can sit beside an armchair as a side table. It can hold a book, a cup of tea, or a child’s drawing. It can stand alone as a small piece of sculpture. Or it can become the first piece of furniture a child calls their own.
Every curve honours the swing of the hurley.
Every cut in the timber reminds us of matches played in wind and rain.
Every stool carries the spirit of the game long after the final whistle has blown.
It is not simply art. It is functional furniture rooted in Irish tradition and made for the next generation of stories.
Ready to bring a piece of that tradition into your home?
Explore the full collection of handcrafted ash stools, including The Original Cut Stool and The Little Cut Stool, made in the Mourne Mountains.
Shop The Cut Stool - https://thecutstool.com/