Old sheep dip from Kilkerley appears in new National Museum publication

An old sheep dip from a farm in Cortial, Kilkerley features in an exhibition at the National Museum in Mayo.

‘Happy Days and Hard Times’ will be launched on Monday December 3 and is a collection of visitor memories inspired by the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life. The stories and memories are complemented by archival images of Irish country life and artefacts from the Irish Folklife Collection.

According to the National Museum, the sheep dip came from a farm in Kilkerley, belonging to a family named Clarke. 

On the National Museum's website, the caption for the above photo says:

"Anna Marie Dowling, her mother Anna and Uncle Jack Clarke with the sheep dip now on display at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life."

It also includes a quote from Anna Marie Dowling, giving a little more detail on the sheep dip:

"My mother was born in 1930, one of ten children on a farm in Cortial, Kilcurly, Co. Louth. The pink sheep dip on Level C was owned by her family and was used to dip the sheep. 

"Over 30 years ago a photo was taken of my uncle, my mother and I standing by this dip in the barn at Cortial."

For more information on the publication see here

The National Museum featured the image on social media today:

Fond memories, a sheep-dip from Cortial, Co Louth and a frequent visitor to the Museum of Country Life!

‘Happy Days and Hard Times’ will be launched on Monday 3rd of December at NMI–Country Life #Mayo https://t.co/NfoJ8ruXJj … pic.twitter.com/PyNkl8y38n

— National Museum of Ireland (@NMIreland) November 22, 2018