Ghost Anvil XXVII Strikes Again





Delighted to have been given the honour of opening Mallow Arts Festival last evening and of having my work Ghost Anvil XXVII return after many festival appearances to its place of origin where my father and grandfather had the family forge.It echoed down and across the streets where it first sounded so many years ago. Delighted also with so many people remembering the sound and discussing other sounds they remembered and have since disappeared also the part that certain sounds played in their lives like the Beet Factory sounding the end of shift work at 8 am. 4 pm and 12 pm. and the other sounds that echoed through the streets of Mallow like when the Pipe Band were practising on a Summers evening or a winters night.


Ghost Anvil XXVII
The sound of the anvil once echoed through every town and village in Ireland. It was the loudest sound around and the blacksmith was the most important man in society. He made the tools for every trade including his own. The carpenter could not work without the nails and tools the blacksmith made. Similarly the farmer, the butcher etc. etc. Also the smith had healing and magical powers which were respected and feared. The sound is now being returned to where it once echoed down this laneway where the McCarthy family had a forge for several generations. Sounds are constantly disappearing from society.
Just Listen ©
Danny McCarthy 2019 Mallow Arts Festival

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