Students of Irish customs and folklore will immediately recognize the above object as a traditional Kerry Fish Dryer. Fish have been dried in Kerry in this manner for centuries. In bygone days it was a common practice for families to gather round such dryers, usually on the beach, often late on a on balmy Sunday afternoon, their presence betrayed by the tell-tale plume of smoke wafting over the assembled company. It was from this tradition that the phrase "Drying Tonight" originated.
I was motivated to re-create such fish-dryers, because I see them as a dying art-form, and I wish to keep alive the tradition, so that there is a body of work that can be used to inform the younger generation of Irish children, who may no longer be familiar with the customs of their fore-fathers, such as these.
As can be see from the above illustration, fish destined for drying, were caught in such far-flung places as Kilmore, Cashen, and Meenegohane. Here, they were consigned to traditional Kerry fish boxes for transportation to drying centres.
These fish have been prepared for drying in the traditional manner, five to a rack, with space in between to allow the smoke from the charcoal and turf fire below to percolate between them.
Another batch of fish lie waiting nearby on the warm sand, having been seasoned earlier in the day in the traditional manner. An extract of seaweed is prepared by the paternal grandfather of the family according to a secret recipe that is handed down from generation to generation on the death-bed of the holder.
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