🧱 At Redmond’s Forge, we believe every LEGO brick tells a story. But some days become epic chapters.
Saturday was one of those days.
After a “peaceful” morning with Luke, playing for Brazil, winning with his team in the Stepaside F.C. Mini World Cup, Ice Cream from the van, the slide in Fernhill, then both Luke and Rose swimming in Blackrock, we jumped in the car at 4:15pm for a journey that would define the future of our LEGO Village, Museum, and maybe even Redmond’s Forge itself.
6 stops. 6 hours. €670 in second-hand LEGO. One €30 Pokémon 151 album. Countless dreams.
🟢 Stop 1 – Killiney
A quick pick-up of LEGO motors and technic for €30. With a bit of luck (and wiring), they’ll power our racetrack, roller coaster, and future LEGO contraptions.
🟢 Stop 2 – Dalkey
A treasure trove: 44 LEGO BrickHeadz, carefully kept with instructions, for €200. Display-ready for the Collector’s Shelf at the Forge.
🟢 Stop 3 – Rathfarnham
5kg of random LEGO bricks for €35. Except… it was clearly more than 5kg. Out of a €50 note, I was handed €10 in change, I commented but told him to keep the €5.
Sometimes, the right thing to do is let the seller keep the win.
🟢 Stop 4 – Coolmine Leisure Centre
A reconnection with the Dunshaughlin Minecraft seller from earlier in the week – now offering up Technic and Star Wars LEGO for €30.
Yes. Please.
🟢 Stop 5 – Cabra
The “accidental jackpot.”
What was meant to be two €35 pick-ups turned into a €200 haul, thanks to having some spare cash in the car and a seller who told me he just wanted it gone.
And we’re grateful – this was a goldmine. The 2 we were meant to pick up, and then 15 Lego CMF’s for €2 each, 1 Pokemon 151 Album filled with 151 cards for €30, and an extra haul of Lego City – about 15 extra sets in total for €70
🟢 Stop 6 – Shillelagh (via M50, M7, M9)
After an en-route McDonald’s pit-stop with playground time, tea, Offbeat donuts, and restrooms for the crew, we hit the road again, through Tullow, past Rathwood (one of our favourite spots), we arrived in Shillelagh.
This haul?
44 Lego Sets judging by the instruction manuals and boxes. Massive. So much so I felt guilty for having bargained it down to €170. But the seller wouldn’t accept more when I offered – so we loaded the car one last time, grateful and amazed.
🌌 And Then… A Drive Through Dreams
We took the long way home.
- Through Tinahely, where we viewed, and are still considering, the Riverside Centre as a possible home for Redmond’s Forge.
- Then to the Meeting of the Waters, where we paused at the historic forge now up for auction, and walked around it as the sun set in the woods.
In 8 days, that forge could become our new home – a restoration project and real-world symbol of this growing dream. - And finally, a last drive through Rathnew, where our offer is in for a commercial unit. Our first home base for the Forge.
We got home at 10:00pm, the car packed tight, the kids half-asleep, and my mind buzzing with how to catalogue the madness.
📦 What Comes Next?
- Every set will be logged and reviewed.
- Select items will go into our LEGO Village, City, Museum, and new Friends section.
- Others will be prepped for resale, helping fund this vision.
This haul is more than bricks. It’s momentum. It’s memories. It’s the living heartbeat of what Redmond’s Forge is becoming. If this doesn’t work – if these bricks don’t tell stories people want to be part of – then maybe this dream doesn’t fly. But looking at Luke’s excitement, Rose’s LEGO clutched in hand, and the setting sun over Wicklow’s hills…
I think we’re onto something.
💬 Watch this space. Follow the journey. Or better yet – come visit soon.
