The Vulcan

Detached two-bay single-storey former forge, built c. 1860. Pitched slate roof with rendered chimneystack. Dressed limestone curtain wall to front (south) elevation with cut limestone coping and round-headed niche having carved limestone figure of Vulcan. Roughcast render over rubble limestone walls to east, west and north elevations. Square-headed opening to east elevation with two-over-two pane timber sliding sash window and limestone sill. Square-headed window opening to west elevation. Paired pointed arch door openings to front with cut limestone voussoirs, now blocked up. Square-headed opening to east with timber battened door. Pointed arch door opening to interior. Fireplace with render surround to interior. Rubble limestone boundary walls to east.

This former smithy is one of the most remarkable examples of its type in Ireland. Its modest form is enlivened by the limestone curtain wall, which addresses the road and contains an accomplished sculpture of Vulcan. Believed to have been carved by Martin Scanlon, it was an image appropriate for the building's purpose. Vulcan was the Roman god of beneficial and hindering fire. He came to be considered as the manufacturer of art, arms, iron and jewellery. Prominently sited, the smithy remains an important part of County Limerick's architectural heritage.