WATCH: Milestone as first female blacksmith graduates in Limerick

THE FIRST female learner to graduate from a highly-skilled blacksmithing and ironworks course in Limerick has been awarded her prestigious guild and cert along with classmates.

Mary Hallinan arrived from a forge in Dublin to the College of Further Education and Training, Cappamore campus, hoping to fine tune her love and passion for metalwork.

She now hopes to take her newly acquired skills into the field of restoration and conservation.

“The programme has been running since 2011, with the city and guilds coming on board in 2015. We are the only accredited training college in the country,” tutor Eric O’ Neill told the Limerick Leader.

He stressed that the County Limerick campus sees people come from far and wide across the country to learn the fundamental skills of blacksmithing.

This year saw a record number of graduates taking part in the course, all completing an introductory module, toolmaking course and a decorative forging module.

Eric described Mary as a “trailblazer” who put in a serious effort, coming to campus on her days off.

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“It’s absolutely fantastic, we would love to see more female learners. I view iron and steel as a creative substance, so gender does not come into the equation,” he added.

Minister-of-State for the Office of Public Works Patrick O’ Donovan presented the graduates with their certs on the evening.

“For many years, blacksmithing and ironwork was seen as a skill that was dying in Ireland,” his address began to the new graduates and their families.

He stressed that the job that he does for the government uses traditional skills every day of the week, such as thatching, carpentry, ironworks and furniture restoration.

He cited listed and protected structures all over the country as an example, even on the main street in Cappamore, that will require sash works, ironworks associated with churches and other restoration skills that those who have completed the one-year programme will be able to tackle.

The Minister-of-State, a teacher by training himself, said he recalled the day the campus, which served as a second-level school at the time, closed its gates for good.

“Little did people realise it would be given a new lease of life for people all over the country to learn new skills nobody in a million years thought would be taught here in East Limerick.

“It keeps this place alive for the people in this parish and that shows the wider country that this small community is a place of knowledge and learning. It is so important that our traditional skills are still being taught here,” Minister O’ Donovan concluded.