Banagher, Co. Offaly is located on the banks of the Shannon River and is surrounded by bogs. In these bogs, deposits of rich bog iron ore have formed.

In 2023, as part of the That Beats Banagher Festival, some of this ore was smelted into iron. In 2024, a group of local people was trained in the art of bloomery iron smelters and are now the Shannon Iron Smelters. See them in action next to the fabulous blacksmithing event the same weekend.