The crafts of Northern Ireland are historically related to those of the British Isles, especially western Scotland, and Europe's Atlantic coast as far north as Norway. Irish boatbuilding, basket making, and metalwork skills can be traced back at least 4,000 years.

Crafts have always related directly to everyday life, and in the past, were intimately connected to survival. In the pre-industrial age, many people were dependent on the skills available in their communities. Some crafts, such as sewing or basic woodworking, were known and practiced at every level of society to provide clothing and domestic necessities. Other crafts were more specialized, and people relied on the local smith, stonemason, cooper, or basket maker to meet those needs.

One characteristic craft, fine Ulster linen, arose in the eighteenth century, and large quantities were exported to the United States. In the beginning, linen production required a complex network of people to transform the flax plant into a commodity suited for the international marketplace.