Events

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Events

Event: Irish Traditional Trades Fair
Date: 24-25 June, 2023
Location: Ballylongford Mill, Ballylongford in North Kerry

This will be a weekend where traditional trades and craftspeople from all over the country come together to demonstrate their skills.
It'll be a family friendly weekend with old fashioned fairground games for the kids, food and entertainment and lots of traditional crafts for sale.
There will be a wide variety of trades and crafts on display, from Longbow makers to Coppersmiths, Feltmakers to Musical Instrument makers, Basketmakers to Blacksmiths.

So far there are 26 different trades and craftspeople confirmed, and we hope to have more by the time of the Fair. Stay up to date with the latest here:
https://www.facebook.com/Irish-Traditional-Trades-Fair-102825278944300/

Event: The Furnace Festival
Date: 26 and 27 August, 2023
Location: Caherconnell Fort in the Burren Co. Clare

The Burren is a unique limestone area in the west of Ireland with many preserved archaeological monuments.

The ores used will be our trusted bog iron ore and the pretty local siderite ore (see pic). As there is no clay in the area, at least one furnace will be built from crushed local shale.

Again, there will be about 30 smelters and blacksmiths from about 9 countries. New this year will be:

The bog iron ore will be smelted in small furnaces which produce blooms of c. 4 - 5 kg in two hours

A 'battery' of about 8 of these furnaces will be run staggered so blooms will be produced throughout the day

The iron will be forged into replicas of objects found during excavations at Caherconnell, mainly knives, arrowheads and belt buckles

An open air museum on the history of iron poduction in Ireland.

Free guided tours throughout

For more information: www.furnacefestival.ie