School: Headfort
- Location:
- Virginia, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: Miss J.E. Browne
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0999, Page 080
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- XML “The Local Forges”
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- (continued from previous page)and shovels, but they do not make pikes or axes.
The special type of work the smith does is shoeing horses. To do this he blows the fire with the bellows until red, He then puts the iron in the fire and takes it out when it is red, he then takes the tongs and lifts the iron out of the fire, shapes it, and then dips it into a tub of cold water until cool, he then nails the shoe to the horse's hoof. Shoeing wheels is done in the open air. There is no local names or terms used in this connection.
Forge water is a cure for warts if the wart is dipped in it, if the sparks made by the red hot iron on the anvil fly towards you it is supposed to be a sign of money coming to you. The smiths have not any special privileges or powers.
The smiths are looked upon as being strong, because of the hard work they do. There are not any stories connected with the forges and(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Agatha Lawrence
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Enagh, Co. Cavan
