Blacksmith
Blacksmithing was a skilled occupation. As well as shoeing horses, making tools and equipment was an important aspect of the trade. As with other crafts, the number of blacksmiths peaked in the 1800s.Population and industry were rising and most products were locally made. However, as mass pr...

Coopering
Coopering is the art of making barrels. There were dry or wet coopers. Wet coopering required more skill as the barrels had to be water tight. The craft employed many people in the 1700s and 1800s as all liquids were moved in barrels, along with many dry agricultural products (get closer by click...

Saddler
In the 1800s, as road transport links were improved and horse traffic increased, saddle and harness making in Ireland reached a peak of production. But increasing use of cars and tractors steadily reduced demand for this craft. There were two parallel traditions of harness making, a quality appro...

Cobbler
Poor children commonly had no shoes, but labourers needed shoes to perform manual work, so the art of making shoes was a local trade until the early 1800s.  But from the 1830s, mass produced shoes from English factories started to dominate the market. Cobblers could not compete with the impo...

Wheelwright
As with other trades, the wheelwright’s business expanded to meet increasing transport demands of the early 1800s, only then to be faced with competition of mass production as the century progressed. The wheel took much skill to produce. It is not a simple flat circle of wood but a complex ...

Clay Pipes
Clay pipes for smoking tobacco are among the most common objects to be found in archaeological digs and ploughed fields.  This section will tell you about their method of manufacture and reveal some of the past beliefs and conflicting attitudes to smoking. (Get closer by clicking the images)...