Tinsmith

"Tinsmith is one of the oldest crafts. Tin, copper, brass and iron, would have been the most trade that the Traveller would have earned a living by, hence the moving from place to place. My father Edward came from a long line of tinsmiths. This was a craft that was handed down from father to son for generations. The busy time for the tinsmith was the summer months of June/July, when the farmers would need the buckets and cans for the work on the farm. The craft died out in the 50’s with the introduction of cheap plastic into Ireland. Which meant Travellers had to move to other countries or turn their hands to other work. "