Tinsmithing Poster

John-Hourigan, 1995 courtesy of the Irish Examiner Archive

Danny Hourigan

The Hourigan family has a rich tradition of tinsmithing, passed down through generations. John Hourigan, the father, and his son, Danny Hourigan, were among the last of their kind to practise the craft in Cork. Their story reflects not just the skills passed down, but also the resilience and spirit of the Traveller community.

In 2023, the Hourigan family reached out to the Cork Traveller Women’s Network (CTWN), seeking a way to honour Danny, the last Traveller tinsmith in Cork. This sparked a beautiful collaboration between the Hourigan family, CTWN, and the Cork Public Museum, which allowed the community to preserve and celebrate this unique piece of Cork’s cultural heritage.

Mary with Daughter Noreen and Granddaughter

Some of Danny’s Pieces

Hourigan Sisters

Mary with her beady pocket

Danny grew up on the road, he met his wife Mary and was married in Bantry in 1967. They settled in the Blackpool area of Cork City in the 1970s, though Danny never truly embraced the settled life. He said that living in a house was like being in a prison. In fact, New Year’s Eve 1999 marked a pivotal moment for the Hourigan family. As the world rang in the new millennium, Danny made a life-changing decision—he would return to the road. He set up camp near Macroom, where he continued his tinsmithing craft for several more years. Even as his health began to decline, Danny maintained his work, creating buckets for tourists and passers by.

Materials for his craft came from various sources, he would source copper tanks or other discarded sheets of metal. He would also buy sheets of brass for a hundred pounds to work with. For example, he could transform one of these sheets of brass into five buckets, showcasing both his resourcefulness and his skill and ensuring a reasonable profit.

Skill, Ingenuity, Artistry and Spectacle

Danny often added intricate designs of horse heads and flowers into his work. His artistry added a unique touch to every piece he created, making his work not just functional, but deeply personal.

Another of Danny’s signatures was his showmanship. Known for his quick wit and charm, Danny would engage with people as he crafted his pieces. When he completed a bucket, he would often perform a dramatic demonstration, standing on the side of the bucket to show the strength and durability of his work. It was a testament to both his craftsmanship and his personality—a combination of artist and entertainer.

Another skill Danny liked to show off was using dampened fire ashes or mud to polish the copper pieces that he made.

Danny with his work

Example of Danny’s skill and artistry

Danny in his barrel top on the road to Macroom

Danny’s showmanship wasn’t limited to his tinsmithing. He also had a flair for sales, evident in the marketing tactic he employed to attract American tourists. He purchased a barrel-top wagon from his cousin and painted the words “Hello America,” (after one of his favourite Jonny Cash songs) across the wagon’s roof, drawing the attention of visitors from across the Atlantic.

Danny’s skills were honed not only through his own practice, but through learning from grandfather, Bill “the winner” O’Driscoll. Bill, who was John’s father-in-law, was an iconic figure in the family’s tinsmithing history. Bill had been sentenced to Spike Island for reasons lost to time as is remembered as the only person to escape the prison by swimming to Cobh, evading recapture. Bill made a living as a tinsmith, and he passed this essential skill down to his son-in-law, John, and later, to his grandson, Danny.

Bucket Made from Noreens Nissan Micra

One of Danny’s most memorable moments of ingenuity involved his daughter Noreen. While learning to drive, Noreen blew the head gasket of her car. Danny, never one to let a challenge go unaddressed, came up with a solution. The very next day, he was seen cutting the roof off her car. Later, he returned to the house and handed Noreen a white bucket. “Not too many people can say they have a bucket made from their first car,” he said, and to this day, Noreen treasures that bucket as a keepsake of her father’s resourcefulness, creativity and love.

In addition to buckets, Danny was skilled in making sulkies and traps, and he was a champion all Ireland sulkie racer. His love of horses was a key part of his identity, a passion that was passed down to his son. However, as times changed, it became more difficult for the Hourigans to keep horses. Tinsmithing, too, began to fade, marking the end of an era. Danny was also an accomplished musician, playing the banjo, accordion, and harmonica. He had an artistic streak that extended beyond tinsmithing. To this day if you mention tinsmithing in Cork you are sure to hear Danny’s name in the conversation.

Roadside Memorial to Danny Hourigan near Macroom

There is a roadside monument to Danny by the Two-Mile Bridge at Coolcower, near Macroom to mark the spot where he camped and worked as a coppersmith for many years.

A Lucky Find

John at work Courtesy of the Cork Folklore Project

John working on a bucket Courtesy of the Cork Folklore Project

John’s workshop Courtesy of the Cork Folklore Project

Through a partnership with the Cork Folklore Project, a remarkable discovery was made. They had recorded a film of Danny’s father, John Hourigan, making a bucket in 1998. The Cork Folklore Project generously allowed the CTWN to use this footage, along with still images, to help preserve the Hourigan family legacy. The video was cleaned up and edited, and is now available for viewing at the Toraig on the Tobar exhibition space at the Cork Public Museum.

The story of the Hourigans is more than just about tinsmithing; it is about the preservation of a culture and way of life that is slowly disappearing. With the collaboration of the Hourigan family, the Cork Traveller Women’s Network, and the Cork Public Museum, the legacy of Danny, John, and the entire Hourigan family will continue to inspire and inform future generations.

The Cork Traveller Women’s Network would like to thank the Hourigan family, especially Mary, Danny’s wife and her daughter Noreen, for letting us tell their story, and the Cork Folklore Project for the use of the John Hourigan video and to the Cork Public Museum for exhibiting it. Thank you also to Folklorist James Furey who worked closely with the family on the project.