The Last of Dublin's Blacksmiths, Ireland 1966

Dublin farrier Dick McLaughlin is sad to see the blacksmith business die but remains immensely proud of his trade. Dublin farrier Richard (Dick) McLaughlin’s family have been in the trade since 1851 and he has been in the smithing business himself for the last 65 years. There is a farrier and a horseshoer, The farrier is the man that must know how to dress the horse’s foot and fit the shoe to the foot. Dick McLaughlin specialises in makes shoes for horses with bad feet and for riding horses. He demonstrates the stages involved with shoeing a horse. The entire process takes 15 minutes to complete all four shoes. The hardest part is, "Making sure that the foot is right for to put the shoe on." The smoke arising from the shoe fitting procedure is said to be a cure for people with tuberculosis. You swolly that smoke and if there’s anything wrong with your insides it can clear it out. An average working horse in Dublin could get a month out of the shoes, another just two weeks. But in comparison to the cost of running a car, Dick McLaughlin reckons a pound for four shoes is good value. Dick McLaughlin is very sad to see his trade dying out. He is the last in his family line to work as a farrier as his son did not follow in his footsteps. "I’m the last of them that’s to follow it, there’s no one to take me place." Dick McLaughlin has never met anyone who can match him shoeing a horse. I’ve never found one to show me how to do it better, I’m proud of me trade. This episode of ‘Newsbeat’ was first broadcast on 1 June 1966. The reporter is Cathal O’Shannon.