About Foleys Forge
Established 1845A brief History of
Foleys forge
When Christy Foley’s great-grandfather William Foley established Foleys Forge in 1845 it was little more than a shed that housed a forge fire to heat metal and an anvil on which to beat it. Even so, in those times, the ability to bend steel to your will meant the local blacksmith shop was the epicenter of village life.
It may not have been glamorous, but there was never a shortage of horses to shoe or wheels to mend and so when Christy’s Grandfather and namesake Christopher handed the business on to his son Patrick “The Gaa” Foley at the dawn of the 20th century, it was a thriving local enterprise.
Patrick “The GAA”
Christopher Foley Circa 1890.
The Forge has always been a family affair. Christy in the early years shoeing a horse while little sister Mary holds the reigns.
By the late 1930’s …
… times were changing. It was the era of the automobile and, as lucrative as shoeing horses had been for generations of Foleys, the future held a different fate for the 80+-year-old establishment. It was about this time that “The Gaa’s” eldest Son, 15-year-old Christy, would undertake an apprenticeship in decorative wrought ironwork that would form the basis of Ireland’s most celebrated Art Metal Works.
Every day, rain, hail or shine Christy would cycle 20 miles to Leixlip where he would learn at the hands of a master craftsman and along the road, he would dream of one day creating decorative wrought iron work like the gates and railings he saw adorning the great manor houses he passed along the way.
“Despite his employer’s meanness, Christy’s resolve never broke”
After a time the young apprentice would partition his employer to allow him to experiment on pieces of scrap so that he may perfect his skills but, to Christy’s disappointment, the man, known to be something of a miserable sod, refused the requests of his apprentice.
Despite his employer’s meanness, Christy’s resolve never broke and his determination would see him spending long nights in his fathers forge, honing his craft.
Ultimately he would fashion a fire screen of his own design which he would enter in the national championships and that piece would win him the coveted An Tóstal Shield.
The Modern Era
The fire screen Christy created for the competition still holds pride of place on his hearth and the award he received for its creation remains prominent above the imposing entryway to the Foleys Forge yard on Main Street, Dunshaughlin in County Meath.
Since the 1980s Christy’s sons, Paul and Mark have continued to carry on the proud tradition that their Great-Great- Grandfather, set in motion over 170 years ago.
When it comes to producing decorative and functional wrought ironwork for some of the finest houses in Ireland, there is simply no alternative to Foleys Forge.
