Horseshoe

This horseshoe was made by Pat Joe Curtis a blacksmith many years ago.

The blacksmiths craft tended to be passed on from one generation to the next, and the Curtis family from Kilnaboy provide an example of such tradition. Members of this family, who have lived in Kilnaboy, in north Clare for over five hundred years, are renowned for their healing abilities with horses and their rituals date back to antiquity.

Ancient Irish law and legend combine to tell us that the master blacksmith enjoyed the highest status among craftworkers. They provided shoes for horses and donkeys that were used both for transport and for farm work. Blacksmith were also vital in making and repairing farm implements such as scythes, sickles, spades, reaping hooks, harrows and ploughs.

Ref: 2000.210

Folklife Collection
Rootsweb: P. J. Curtis
Tools and Equipment Collection