School: Westland (roll number 8428)

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1. Forges (continued)

   

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   The forges all use the usual implements, but J. Mc Entee has a wheel bellows inside for blowing the fire outside, the others have not, they just warm the wheel inside and then bring it outside at the other - fire place.
   A smith long ago could shoe cattle, horses and asses. The cattle were shod the same as a horse only the shoe was in two pieces.
   A man living beside Moynalty Co Meath had six cattle of the right kind for ploughing.
   Another man living in this neighbourhood ploughed with a bull and a stallion for two years.
   A man living in Dune in Co Meath had two bulls for ploughing.
   About twenty years ago a man used to drive a bullock in a cart to the market in Kells Co Meath past our gate.
   Smiths make all farm implements, but long ago they used to make slanes for cutting turf. They made them out of two old spades, first they cut the ears off them and then they welded them together to make the slane wider, and then they had a slane made.
   The only forge work done in the open air is shoeing wheels, and that is done at the fire outside.
   The only belief connected with a forge that I could find out about is that if a young horse get a cut on his breast the owner would get forge water and bath the breast, and it would get better.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. trades and crafts (~4,680)
            1. smithing (~2,389)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Betty Mc Whirter

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Drumlayne, Co. Meath

   Informant

   Mr R. Mc Whirter

   Relation

   Parent

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Drumlayne, Co. Meath