Athy Co-op Foundry

05/08/2026

05/08/2026

On a quiet day in the foundry. No pouring or heavy lifting going on.

A few photos of some of the equipment and oddities lying around. Old patterns, moulding gear, work in progress, unidentified metal pieces, and faded supplier labels.

Bits of foundry history tucked into every corner.

20/07/2026

One of the oldest members of the team. Dusty but still earning its keep.

This is a *Wadkin Recesser*. Might not look glamorous, but it's an important part of the process.

It's basically an industrial woodworking machine we use to shape timber and aluminium into the patterns that we use to make moulds.

- *Milling timber* to make wooden patterns for castings.
- *Routing* grooves and complex shapes into wooden patterns.
- It can also machine *aluminium*, which would be used for more durable patterns or pattern plates

Then the patterns are used to create the sand moulds that the metal is poured into.

Every casting starts long before the pour.

14/07/2026

Anybody know what this machine is?

It's been part of the foundry for many years and we still use it regularly.

Wrong answers are welcome too. 😄

Answer tomorrow

07/07/2026

Nothing too dramatic to show today.

No big finished project. No major restoration. Just a few more random photos from around the foundry.

Machines, moulding sand, patterns, old castings, new castings, work in progress and a few odd things that have probably been sitting in the same corner longer than anyone can remember.

One photo is from an old brochure and gives a bit of the history. Athy Co-operative Foundry Society Limited began trading in June 1988, following the closure of the previous Athy Foundry in 1987 with the loss of 14 jobs.

Nearly four decades later, we’re still here, still making things.

04/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1521235876121541

03/07/2026

In 2024, we made the decorative cast iron panels for **The Golden Bandstand**, a public artwork by artist Garrett Phelan at TU Dublin's Grangegorman campus. You can read a bit about it on our website below. How traditional foundry craftsmanship became part of a unique modern landmark.

https://athyfoundry.ie/projects/the-golden-bandstand-decorative-cast-panels/

30/06/2026

**Three Men and a Ladle**

Pouring cast iron gutters for a client.

To make sure the mould fills completely before the iron starts to cool, the hot metal is poured into three different points at the same time.



(Yes, we know a fourth man joined in! That didn't make for as good a title.)

25/06/2026

And so it begins,