Tag Archives: blacksmith

A FRENCH craftsman who has made Clare his home is hoping to forge a brand new festival in Ennis. Guy Urbin, who was the resident blacksmith at the Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford, is organising a blacksmith and craft festival which will take place in the county capital this weekend. The festival which will be held at Market Place promises to be real hot stuff with four forges and at least 12 blacksmiths demonstrating their craft across two days. Guy and his wife who moved to Ennis last year opened an art and craft gallery in Curtin’s Lane. He explains one of the reasons he is organising this weekend’s festival is to express his appreciation to the people of Ennis for the welcome they have receive and to bring more events to the town. He also wants to showcase the traditional craft to others who may not have had the opportunity before this to see blacksmithing in person. Guy …

AN ANCIENT craft is undergoing a revival in Mountshannon. Artists and blacksmith Mark Wilson has created a video series to share the knowledge and lore. A series of short pieces, shared on his Facebook page, have been getting major traction, and in Mark’s own words have “literally gone bananas”. Entitled ‘Revival – Tricks and Trades for the New World,’ the series has touched, to-date, on topics including wood crafts, making gifts and the ‘heritage of hammers’. On Hallowe’en night, Mark went live on Facebook and – lit by candle light – discussed the traditions and folklore associated with the festival. “I had been travelling the length and breadth of Ireland working in schools and passing on craft techniques,” he explained. “I have quite a lot of knowledge at this stage and I wanted to pass it one. This was something I was working on well before lockdown, but now making videos has become incredibly trendy.” While the production values of …

A WEST Clare company that is steeped in tradition dating back hundreds of years has found itself diversifying radically to stay alive, and to serve the public during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kilkee Forge, which dates back to the 1700s, and is now run by fifth-generation blacksmith and industrial designer Conor Murray. With his normal bespoke commissions for sculptural projects and outdoor furniture drying up dramatically because of the Coronavirus restrictions, Conor identified a need for protective products for small businesses locally and drew on resources recently acquired by the businesses to create a new line of highly sought after products. “I had to pivot because while our regular lines of work were disappearing, new needs were arising,” he explained. “I could see that, in terms of the protective perspex sneeze guards, that the bigger shops and supermarkets were quickly looked after but the smaller ones weren’t. It seemed that, in West Clare in particular, smaller businesses were being left behind …