Traditional tub trap to go on display at Fermanagh Museum

A museum has received a traditional tub trap on loan from a coachbuilder.

The cart, built by James McKeagney in 1914, is now on display at Fermanagh County Museum at Enniskillen Castle.

Showcasing the craft of the Tempo coachbuilder, the trap has been loaned to the museum for the long term.

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A tub trap is a small two-wheeled horse-drawn cart known for its open, tub-like shape, featuring two inward and opposite-facing seats.

It earned the nickname 'governess cart' due to its safety, which saw passengers safely enclosed together.

Mr. McKeagney established his successful coachbuilding business back in 1835 in Tempo, Co Fermanagh.

The family business built several horse, pony and donkey carts, as well as milk drays and even wheelbarrows and handbarrows.

By the late 1930s motor cars and tractors had become increasingly popular, causing the demand for traditional vehicular craftsmanship to wane substantially and leading to the business's closure in 1956.

The tub trap at the museum was originally built for Joe and Mary McCusker of Ballyreagh, Tempo, who used it up to 1940.

Lying untouched in a barn until 1982, it was then given to James’s grandson, the late Johnny McKeagney, a heritage enthusiast who opened a museum on the coachbuilding site.

Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor John McClaughry, said: "I am delighted that the McKeagney family decided to lend the traditional tub trap, which was built and restored by their family, to Fermanagh County Museum so that visitors to the museum can discover more about the fascinating history of local coachbuilding and see at first hand the beautiful craftsmanship of the traditional tub trap.

"Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is committed to enhancing and increasing access to local heritage and we are grateful to the McKeagney family for the long-term loan of the tub trap so people can enjoy and appreciate this bygone era."

The McKeagney family said: "Our father felt very connected with his coachbuilding heritage.

"The trap physically represents what Johnny spent years researching and illustrating as coachbuilding features prominently in his book ‘In the Ould Ago – Illustrated Irish Folklore'".