Blacksmiths invade Monaghan,leave chastity belt behind...

Great excitement in Monaghan Town last weekend as we hosted the International Blacksmithing Festival. The center of the Monaghan Metropolis was cordoned off and covered and 10 forges were installed. Lots of people came to see the blacksmiths in action and there was a great buzz around the town. It was odd to see so many people simply staring in wonder at the blacksmith creating beautiful works of art out of glowing lumps of metal. You would pass by a group looking on at a blacksmith and pass by the same spot 30 minurtes later and see the same people transfixed , not having moved. I think it was a rare opportunity to see craftsmen actually working and to get a sense of the sounds and smells of industry and something actually, physically being made in front ogf your eyes rather than gormlessly looking at things in shops.

My kids had a great time as , for the staggering price of €3 , the artisan blacksmiths generously gave up their time to make horse shoes and hooks with the kids. This was a great experience for them...the kids, not the blacksmiths. The blacksmiths were so patient and friendly and were true embassadors for their craft.

As we walked around I noticed that a good chunk of the blacksmiths were wearing Carhartt , which made sense as the Carhartt gear is a heritage item, much like blacksmithing itself and more importantly can put up with a fair amount of abuse.

One of the leading blacksmiths, Mark Keeling , created a frame for a work called the Hive of Knowledge and over the weekend all of the blacksmiths made panels to be attached to the hive which is now to remain in Monaghan as a memento of the festival. This photo doesn't do it justice , but you get the idea :

So anyway, there we were having a great time with the whole family, enjoying a bit of life and a buzz around the town and immersing ourselve in soot and all things smithy like when I came up with the idea "Let's go to the market house exhibition to see all the irom craft works ". Those words haunt me now.

We were only in the door when my daughter and sons pointed en masse at this delightful creation and shouted " Dad, what's that ? "

And there , just above my head, hanging in all of it's wonderful vulgarity was Gerarg Loughran's working of a chastity belt. Don't get me wrong, I do think it is a work of art, my dilema was the answer I was about to give my curious children. "Well, have you ever heard about the Crusades ?" I started quietly, as there were a few tourists around that were now curious about how I was going to answer this question as well." Yes" my three musketeers replied.

"Well when some of the knights were going away they wanted to make sure that their wives were safe and wouldn't be attacked by other men so they asked them to wear this kind of thing".

"Looks like a very poor helmet design" answered Jake.

"They didn't wear it on their heads, they wore it like a belt" I whispered. My darling wife had now edged more than a polite distance away, close enough to enjoy my embarassment, but far enough away not to be directly associated with it.

"A belt ?" Robyn exclaimed, " It looks very heavy to be a belt, and why is there a lock on it ?"

"And why is there that extra bit at the bottom ?" "My belts don't have one of those" Elliot chipped in.

Our audience of bemused tourists had now swelled to 7 , but felt like 700 to me now.

"Well, the belt was to stop the lady who wore it from making love with anyone else while her husband was away. That's why there's a lock on it. It was a long time ago and was ahorrible and cruel thing to have to wear."

That seemed to satisfy their curiosity and silence the sniggers of the tourists. My wife looked on and smiled.

"Why is it hanging there ?" the kids asked. "Well. a man called Gerard Loughran who is an artist blacksmith decided to make it because he thought it would be interesting and provoke some discussion and thought. ( Congratulations Gerard !)"

"And why is €700 written on it ?" "That's how much he's selling it for".

"Who's going to buy it ?" the kids asked. I bent down and we huddled together. "Don't tell your Mum, but I'm going to get it for her for her bitrthday."

The kids ran off immediately to tell. The tourists laughed. Just another Sunday afternoon in Monaghan.....

So folks , if you've read this far i'd say you deserve the chance to win a prize .

This week a Carhartt coat is up for grabs simply answer the following question in the comment section below the blog :

1. What ridiculously low price is the Carhartt Coat ?

2. What's the most embarassing question you asked as a child, or had a child ask you ?

Ta ta for now,

Paul

P.S. If you do nothing else today watch this clip of Jessie J from Glastonbury when she got a wee girl from the crowd to sing Price Tag. If you don't smile there's something wrong with you, or my faith in you.