School: Louth (C.) (roll number 3252)
- Location:
- Lú, Co. Lú
- Teacher: M. Ní Chasaide
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0665, Page 315
Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.
See copyright details.
DownloadOpen data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
- XML School: Louth (C.)
- XML Page 315
- XML “Local Forge”
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- (continued from previous page)double ploughs, cultivators, drill harrows, saddle harrows, choppers, and many others.
Horshoeing and repairing farm implements are mostly his work. Sometimes when a horse bolts he has to shoe him outside in the open, and the shoeing of wheels is done outside also, by lighting a fire of turf in a shape of a cartwheel, the round iron is then lad round in the turf and the fire is lit. Then the iron expands and it is then put back on the wooden wheel. A tool called the pair of dogs are used while shoeing the wheels. When the iron is lifted out of the mad red fire and is placed on the wheel the smith shouts Water Water. There is a great cure in the iron water for warts, and chin coughs. Many's the person came for bottles of water to the forge.
In the olden times a blacksmith could marry a pair across the anvil. The blacksmiths are always regarded as very strong and healthy men. The forge is a great centre for storytelling. On Winter nights the young boys gather together and play cards in the forge and many a joke is passed. When there is a marriage round about the place and a half barrel is given(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Eveline Byrne
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Carraig na gCanónach, Co. Lú
