Former Forge in Aughrim  Picture: Michael Fisher

I passed through the village of Aughrim in County Wicklow yesterday and stopped at the hotel beside the bridge for a coffee. It was pouring rain and not very scenic. But when I visited in August it looked really well with lovely floral displays. One of the buildings I noticed was an old forge: or did it possibly have a connection with a former railway line?

Irish National Foresters’ Hall in Aughrim  Picture: Michael Fisher

There is also an Irish National Foresters’ Hall and a memorial to the pike men of the 1798 rebellion led by Michael Dwyer. The stone is surmounted by a ‘crown’ fashioned from bronze pikes. Kiltegan is not far from here, where St Patrick’s Missionary Society is located.  All pictures from August.

‘Crown’ of Bronze Pikes on 1798 Memorial in Aughrim Picture: Michael Fisher