School: Barradubh (Sixmilebridge)

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1. Old Trades - An Sleán (continued)

   

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   after Christmas each year he made a number of Sleáns which were eagerly bought up. He had two sons and two daughters The elder son Michael became a priest and is in the mission in America. The younger son Pattie remained at home. Old Eugene taught Pattie the secret of the Sleán making and year after year he worked for a few weeks at a time maintaining the Murphy reputation as traditional Sleán makers though he never did anything else at the forge. He married and has only one daughter. In 1938 he was ill and unable for the first time for several generations to make a Murphy Sleán. He has returned home from hospitle and it is feared that the tradition will soon be ended.

   The Murphy Sleán was not clumsy. It was neatly made and had sufficient "take" to be worked with ease and left no "wigs" after it. It had the handle easily fixed and had a ring which could be found in no other sleán. But above all its "temper" was assured and so wore back to the socket. There was scarcely any

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Dómhnall Ua Donnchadha

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Múinteoir