James Irwin commissioned James Robinson to make the giant teapot for his Scotch Street premises in the early 1880s. Robinson was ideally suited to the job of carefully cutting and soldering the metal plates that make up the teapot for he was the Town Commissioners’ ‘Waterman’ and a skilful plumber.
It hung on James Irwin’s premises in Scotch Street for many decades where the spout proudly puffed steam to attract customers to his shop and the City Bakery Café which thrived on the first floor.
After being damaged in an accident in the 1990’s the family donated it to Armagh County Museum and it remains part of the museum’s collection.
In 2018 the HLF funded Townscape Heritage Initiative provided the opportunity for much needed remedial conservation work to be carried out on the teapot. So that once again this iconic symbol of Armagh’s commercial heritage can be enjoyed by shoppers and visitors to the city.