emigrants home. Drumshanbo is the only location in Ireland where it has survived into the 21st century. The Sliabh An Iarainn Walking Festival takes place 11 and 12 April 2015. There are two days of graded A,B,C walks for walkers of all abilities. Religion Drumshanbo has three churches and a convent. The Roman Catholic Church built in 1845 is dedicated to St Patrick and commemorates his first crossing of the Shannon nearby. The old church stood on a site in the famine graveyard in 1744 further out of town. St John's Church of Ireland dates back to 1829. It is a gothic style structure ornamented with a tower and pinnacles. The present Methodist Church on the Carrick Road was built in 1860; however, there had been an earlier chapel dating back to 1760s. The Poor Clare Convent was built in 1860. The Sisters are Franciscian Poor Clares and as such observe strict enclosure, recite the Divine Office in choir and maintain Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The nuns pray around the clock and as it is an enclosed order they never leave the convent except in the event of a medical emergency. In the last refurbishment of the convent chapel, it was possible to integrate the community of nuns with the Public to a greater degree than previously. Education Drumshanbo has both a large primary school and a vocational secondary school, which provide education for local children until the age of eighteen. Drumshanbo Vocational was opened in 1964, with major extensions in 1985 and 2012 and a further extension due to start in 2015. In 2014 a 50th anniversary magazine was launched with over 50 contributions from pupils and teachers from all decades, photos from same and a comprehensive list of all past pupils. History Drumshanbo town originated from the extensive Iron industry around Slieve Anierin from the 17th century. Pig iron produced at Iron smelting works on the east of Slieve Anierin was brought south across Lough Allen to Drumshanbo Finery forge where a malleable iron product was produced and transported to Dublin and Limerick by boat. The first ship built by the East India company in Limerick was supposedly finished with the product from Drumshanbo Iron works. According to folklore the "". Long ago Ireland had been covered in Woodland, a claim echoed in a 19th-century survey of Leitrim- "". These great forests in Leitrim and on