School: Finiskill (roll number 13075)
- Location:
- Finiskil, Co. Leitrim
- Teacher: Cathal Ó Floinn
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0219, Page 385
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- XML “The Local Forge”
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- There are six forges in the parish, three in the town of Mohill and three in the country. The names of the smiths in the town are Michael Cox, Felix Gannon and James Gilmartin. Of the three country forges one is situated at [?] Bridge and is owned by Frank Gallagher, the second, owned by Joseph O'Rourke at [?] cross roads and the third which belongs to Frank Reynolds stands near [?] crossroads.
All the blacksmiths mentioned above are themselves the sons of blacksmiths. Joseph O'Rourke has according to local opinion the longest line of blacksmith ancestors as his great great grandfather is said to have plied his trade about two hundred years ago. The forge is rectangular in shape like a dwelling house with stone walls and a roof thatched with rushes and lined on the inside with "scraws" (scraize) or sods dug from a nearby field. The door is wide in order to make access easy for large animals but none of the doors in local forges have any special shape such as a horse-shoe shape or a rounded lintel. There is one fireplace in the forge situated at the end farthest from the door and built upon a raised(continues on next page)
