A gateway into Shercock’s rural heritage

Work to survey the charming old gates adorning some farms around Shercock will get underway this summer.

The Shercock Tidy Towns will undertake the project having last week received support from the Heritage Council with €5,040 in funding.

The group will commence by recording the unique tradition of forged wrought iron field gates. Tidy Towns secretary Carol Smyth regards these as “a distinctive feature of Irish rural heritage”.

Once widespread across the country, especially from the mid-1700s onward, they were crafted at local forges and represent a blend of practical craftsmanship and creative design that is virtually unique to Ireland. Carol regards the project as a way to highlight this often overlooked aspect of our industrial, artistic and cultural heritage.

“By doing this project we will actively go out and find the gates, record them using photographic surveys. Also we’ll get a specialist, Shem Caulfield to survey them as well by looking at the different features of the gates that make each one distinctive.”

Many antique gates will bare the mark of their maker.

“They would have distinguishing features on the gate that would highlight - that belongs to that area and that forge. Some of them are also initialled, or some have branding that would be specific to a forge or blacksmith.”

The findings will be compiled into a report and Shercock Tidy Towns are grateful to Cavan County Museum for committing to store the records.

“The project is important because while this seems like an obvious project to do, it just hasn’t been done to date and we feel by being proactive we’re capturing this before they get damaged or neglected or stolen.”

Like many of us, Carol recalls climbing the gates of her grandad’s farmhouse.

“As adults we become more conscious of their importance and significance in terms our heritage and how it’s disappearing, and our responsibility to try to do something to hold on to it.

“So often these gates are over a 100 years old but they’re still as good today, as the day that they were put up. Okay they don’t look as flashy but they’re still important, they still serve their function and they’re just nicer, better quality.”

The Celt admits to having never considered the merits of old gates.

“That’s the point of the project: not many people get excited about gates, but when the idea of the project comes together and it is backed by a respected body, such as the Heritage Council, they see merit in a project like this. Now they are actively handing it over to us to go out and do the work. We hope that the public will come along and get involved and record as well.”

The project will culminate with an exciting event to celebrate Heritage Week. The public can come to learn about the survey results, and contribute any stories related to the gates.

“Sometimes you will have folklore or local stories and if that’s not captured, and recorded then it is lost.

“We’re also going to have a live demonstration from a blacksmith so it’s going to be a really engaging event where we hope people will come along and learn about this part of our neglected past.”

Carol bats away suggestions that the Tidy Towns umbrella seems too small for the Shercock group. Noting this comes under the sustainability pillar of Tidy Towns she says in Shercock they have both the vision and resources to make them happen.

“The only limits for a Tidy Towns [Committee] is what they put on themselves.”