Athy Co-op Foundry

13/10/2026

Recreating an original globe lantern fitting for Sligo City Hall, a historic building dating from the late 1800s.

With only old photographs to work from, this job involved recreating the intricate metalwork to match the original design.

Unfortunately, we can't show you a photograph of the original lantern here. The historical photographs are held in archives and require a licensing fee to reproduce online. A bit much for a Facebook post!

But you can see some of the work involved in bringing this piece of Sligo's architectural history back to life in the photographs below

30/09/2026

Another pour / On the foundry floor.
This is the mould for the gate in the previous post.

29/09/2026

"Please continue to hold. All our agents are currently occupied making a gate"

Your call is important to us.

25/09/2026

Work taking shape.

These are cast iron bases for heritage-style signage, made here in Athy. The kind of traditional ironwork built to look the part and last for generations.

23/09/2026

Solid work (But not as solid as it looks).

These are cores for cast-iron post tops. The decorative pieces that sit on top of gate or railing posts. The core makes a hollow space inside the casting, so the finished post top isn't solid iron, keeping the weight down.

11/09/2026

We are not in the weapons manufacturing business here at Athy Co-op Foundry. This is a REPLICA cannon we made for a customer a few years back.

Although? It's 100% cast iron (We can also make the barrel from bronze). If you got hold of the right size cannon ball and a bag of gunpowder you could possibly fire it.

We accept no responsibility 😁

10/09/2026

Cast iron bench, made here at Athy Co-op Foundry.

Let’s just say you wouldn’t run away with it too easily.

Built to last (And built to stay where you put it).

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.