Forged in Ireland are excited to return to the annual "That Beats Banagher" Festival in Banagher, Co. Offaly on the banks of the beautiful river Shannon, from July 24th to 26th, 2026. This highly anticipated community event celebrates the local Banagher culture, and Forged in Ireland will be performing blacksmithing demonstrations, displaying metal artwork, stalls for unique metal work and of course the epic "Battle of the Blacksmiths" competitions.
Festival Highlights Include
Battle of the Blacksmiths: The premier blacksmithing competition featuring live demonstrations and artisans from all over. There'll be a series of technical challenges over the weekend to see who will be crowned this years master blacksmith! We'll also be having our annual blacksmith art challenge - theme TBC!
Furnace Festival: Live clay furnace iron-ore smelting demonstrations using iron from local bogs. At last year’s hugely successful Iron Ore Smelting demonstrations during the That Beats Banagher Festival, the Shannon Iron Smelters were created. This year will again see several clay furnaces pumping out true Banagher iron, with ore from the nearby bogs and possibly from the base of the Shannon! The Furnace Festival takes place next to the amazing blacksmiths of Forged in Ireland who demonstrate the skills involved in modern forging. Demonstrations welcoming the public from 10am to 6pm.
Workshops & Heritage: Interactive heritage walks, and local arts - see the ThatBeatsBanagher.com
Agenda
Saturday 25th July – Open to the Public (10:00 am – 6:00 pm)
10:00am to 4:00pm – Battle of the Blacksmiths
Irelands top blacksmiths will be competing in a series of fast paced forging challenges designed to test their skills.
4:00pm to 6:00pm – Chopping Competition
Blacksmiths and bladesmiths and knifemakers will be competing on our custom built course to test our makers to the limit.
Sunday, July 26th – Open to the Public (10:30am – 5:00pm)
10:30 pm – 4:00 pm – The Golden Anvil Challenge
Blacksmiths will be given a set of challenges to compete in time , the winner will take home the highly coveted Golden Anvil
4:00pm to 6:00pm – Prize Giving Where all the winners get to take a bow and some very short speaches from the hard working crew.
From decorative ironwork to fire welding and sculpture, you’ll witness the magic of this age-old craft up close and personal. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to experience something truly spectacular in Banagher in 2026!
Gallery
Click a picture to view it in full.
