Fragrance house

Cloon Keen Atelier

Cloon Keen Atelier was founded in Galway by Margaret Mangan and Julian Checkley, with public accounts placing its beginnings in 2001 or 2002. The pair met while working on a film production in western Ireland: Mangan had a film-industry finance background, while Checkley worked as a set designer and model maker. The business began with handmade scented candles before developing into a perfumery. Its name derives from the Gaelic “Cluain Caoin,” meaning “splendid meadow,” and also refers to a family home and Galway townland associated with Mangan’s family. Rooted in Galway, Connemara and Ireland’s West, the brand uses scent to evoke place, memory, poetry, folklore and belonging. Mangan became its perfumer, developing her craft through self-directed study and training her nose with thousands of fragrance materials. In 2011, Cloon Keen created fragranced products for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ireland, including items for her private quarters. Castaña received a five-star rating in the 2018 edition of Perfumes: The Guide, while Róisín Dubh, created with Irish perfumer Meabh McCurtin, won Best New Independent Fragrance at the 2019 Fragrance Foundation Awards. The business operates as Cloon Keen Atelier Ltd, registered in Galway, Ireland.