Shoe Making
Ned Quinn another member of the Quinn family (who had the bakery) was a shoe-maker and lived just to the west of Strand Bar. His long beard is a childhood memory of mine. William Mockler's brother, also a shoe-maker plied his trade in a work-shop opposite the Mockler household, now The Cottage and the property of Mrs Sutton. I remember going there with my father, one day with some shoes to repair.
Butcher
A resident butcher lived to the north of the Boathouse. The site would have protruded on to the present Main St., and is long since gone. The O’Shaughnessy family were the proprietors; we always heard him referred to (presumably the last resident) as Mr. O. Patsy O’Shaughnessy later lived in what we called the Courthouse, the building now owned by the Perks family and which contained the last Tourist Office and had previously been used as a Courthouse. He had the keys of the old Cathedral in the graveyard. There was another period, when part of his occupation was something in the nature of a sanitory officer ie an inspector of drains (a la Percy French). Byrons (now owned by Quinns) had a victualler business later, at the foot of Parsons Hill.
Net Making
Troys of the Cliff (besides being engaged in the actual fishing) made nets for themselves and other fishermen.
Forge
Moloneys had the forge in the village. When they came to Ardmore first from Aglish the forge was opposite the graveyard in part of Ronayne's farmyard, but that was for a short period. The clang of the anvil was one of the familiar village sounds, now heard no more. It ceased in 1951. (See Ardmore Journal 1991.)
Nowadays things are quite different. There is a hairdressing establishment in the village. There are two hotels, guesthouses and restaurants in a place, where once it was difficult for a visitor to get a simple cup of tea.
The building boom has extended to Ardmore and there is a plethora of new houses on the New Line, out the Youghal Road and in Whitingbay, so we have builders, electricians, plasterers, painters and most efficient tradesmen of every genre.
Three very busy joineries turn out excellent furniture. The Pottery on the Cliff is a source of great interest. There one can see the potters at work and also select from a most superior range of crafts from all over Ireland and solely of Irish manufacture.
Author: Siobhan Lincoln