Barney Devlin, who has died aged 96, was a store of local history and lore in his native south Derry, a country blacksmith from the age of the horse and cart immortalised by his neighbour and relative, Seamus Heaney, in the poem "The Forge".
Bernard Devlin was the youngest of the three surviving sons of blacksmith Barney Devlin and his wife Nancy (née Scullion). His mother was a cousin of Heaney’s grandmother.
He was born just across the road from the house in which he died and over his long life he lived within a radius of 100 yards. Heaney was a near neighbour, born half a mile away.
On his living room wall, an inscription from Heaney had pride of place: “For Barney – old friend and good example of how to do good work and stay true.”
Devlin received his education at Castledawson Primary School, leaving in his early teens to work with his father in the family forge.
He was among the last of the old-style country blacksmiths, shoeing horses, making hoops for wheels, and fashioning church gates and other ironwork.
The forge was a meeting place for people of all backgrounds, some needing work done, others just whiling away the time. Children on their way to and from school used to congregate there and it was a place where stories where told, not all of them necessarily true.
The blacksmith’s trade went into decline but Barney Devlin never fully stopped working. He preserved the forge so others could see how the work was done.
Amateur actor
His father had bequeathed to him a love of amateur acting. One of his noted performances was for a group in nearby
Bellaghy
in a play called “Betsy Gray or the Hearts of Down”, where the young Heaney was one of his fellow actors.
About 35 years ago, he established the Forge Players, a company which for a while rehearsed in the forge itself. He passed on to the players his loyalty to the old-fashioned staples of amateur drama, such as the work of George Shiels.
He is survived by his daughters Clare, Anne, Patricia and Teresa: and his sons Joe, Kieran, Barry and Gerard. He was predeceased by his wife, Margaret (Peg), and son Hugh.