School: Cill Ruis Íochtair (roll number 4106)

Location:
Kilrusheighter, Co. Sligo
Teacher:
Toirdhealbhach Ó Catháin
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0168, Page 231

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0168, Page 231

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  1. (continued from previous page)
    wheels of carts.
    The blacksmith shoes the wheels in the open air. He has a stone as big as the wheel with a hole in the middle of it. He puts the tyre on the ground and covers it with lit colas and when it is red hot he takes it out and puts it down on the wheel which he has left on the big stone.
    When the smith is making a bog spade he gets in the shop partly shaped. Then he turns it to suit the handle and fits it in. The place for the handle is called the boong and the wing is called the lon.
    He gets ribbon iron in the shop for making gates and sometimes he gets the pole of the gate in the shop also, but very often he makes it out of the axle of a cart. The rivets are made out of rod iron.
    Tom Meehan was a famous man for turning scythes. He used to remake the heel of the scythe to give it ground to suit the man that was going to mow. He never used a hoop but made a special ring to hold the blade on the sned.
    Smiths are always hard rough men. People gather at the forge on wet days to spend the day talking or making things. He makes a frost nail for anyone who wants it because they say that it is as good as a blackthorn stick in a row. There was an old forge at Ballyfarris bridge and they say pikes were made in it for the Fenians.
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. economic activities
        1. trades and crafts (~4,680)
          1. smithing (~2,389)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Maureen Marley
    Gender
    Female
    Address
    Corkagh More, Co. Sligo
    Informant
    John Caheny
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Ballyfaris, Co. Sligo