A new generation of blacksmiths learn the trade at Ceárta Inneona Blacksmith and Forging Centre in Mayo.
The ancient craft of blacksmithing is being taught at a modern forge facility in Belmullet. The course which takes two years to complete is accredited by the Crafts Council of Ireland.
Student Eadaoin Murray has her own forge at home in County Sligo. She is proof that women can be blacksmiths, as this profession is not purely based on strength,
Elmer Rousche an American blacksmith and the course instructor says learning the blacksmithing trade means a training of the senses
You learn with your hammer to feel how that metal is moving.
Another Sligo native taking the course is Brian Halpin. His grandfather was a blacksmith, and as a child he would watch him at work in his forge.
It was like magic.
Being a blacksmith is a unique skill, as Colin Highfield explains, those in the profession do not see obstacles in the same way that the majority of people do.
With the heat, the tools and the metal, we can make anything.
Chris O’Dowd is another student who also has blacksmithing in his blood and hopes to find a niche in the building industry when qualified.
Given the interest in blacksmithing and farriery in this part of the country, this remote part of Mayo emerged as the best location for to set up a training centre for Ireland's blacksmiths. It is hoped that the Mullet Peninsula will be a centre for,
A new tradition in the crafted items forged by this new generation of blacksmiths.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 7 May 1999. The reporter is Diarmuid Peavoy.
