Caherconnell Furnace Festival
On the 29th & 30th of August 2026 Iron smelters and students from around the globe will attend the Caherconnell International Furnace Festival to smelt Irish bog ore.
Event highlights:
Visitors can expect to see traditional Iron Smelting, with iron blooms coming from the furnace roughly every 2 hours, along with intermittent explanations about the history and science behind iron smelting. Blacksmithing, by skilled smiths refining the iron produced into usable metal. Woodworking and other crafts will be displayed at stalls over the weekend.
The festival will once again be hosted by Caherconnell Stone fort in The Burren, Co. Clare, an absolutely stunning location within a Medieval ring fort, with guided tours available at the front desk.
Courses:
This year we will be running 3 day Iron Smelting courses. Where you can: Build a furnace, Smelt Bog
ore and Refine your iron.
We'll work together, mixing clay to build your furnace and firing it in preparation for smelting.
Learn how to successfully smelt Irish bog ore by hand, using traditional methods. Charge bog ore and charcoal into the furnace, pump the bellows, extract your Bog Iron Bloom and compact it using big wooden hammers! A portion of your iron can be taken home as a souvenir.
On Sunday our team will carry out Iron refining demonstrations, folding the iron many times in a charcoal hearth to remove impurities with each folding. Participants can get in on the action by helping with hammering.
To book a place on the course please email irishbloomeryiron@gmail.com