Jimmy Corrigan (b. 1919)

Track 1: Brought up by his two aunts on the outskirts of Kinnitty, beside Guilfoyles’ forge. Recalled Jack Guilfoyle, a gifted blacksmith. His apprenticeship to Jack at an early age. Using the highly specific terms of the blacksmith’s craft, he described the work and skill of this ancient profession. Track 2: The years of the Emergency and the large number of people who did business at the forge, the long hours and the intensely hot environment. The preparing and the paring of an animal’s hoof which was necessary before it was shod. Track 3: The art and hard work involved in inserting a band around a cartwheel. Working with Tom Fierhey, a wheelwright in Kinnitty, and admiration for his skill in wheelmaking. The prices charged for shoeing horses. Track 4: The skill of gate-making and the gates he made to order. Memories of Lord Deasy, the owner of Kinnitty Castle at one time, who employed Jimmy as farrier for his racehorses. The atmosphere of the forge, with its smoke and unique smells. Track 5: The skill required to shoe a Clydesdale horse; memories of ploughing a field with this magnificent animal. He retired from the business due to ill health, but subsequently was restored to health due to a cure. Track 6: Recalled his young days in Kinnitty, and membership of the local hurling team. An anecdote in which his team was required to travel to a match and had to ‘borrow’ an ass and cart, illicitly acquired!