School: Clooncullaun (roll number 13163)
- Location:
- Clooncullaan, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Liam Mac Leastair
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0250, Page 238
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- 1. As a preventative of Black-leg in a beast, it was customary for the old people of this district to give to the young calf on the day of birth and before he would get any milk three small bits of of old baked cow-dung mixed with peat ashes and which was used to hold the twelve rush candles on the previous Twelfth Night. This old dried mixture of cow-dung and ashes was carefully kept from the previous Twelfth Night, usually stowed away in the roof, behind the rafter so as to have it in readiness to give to the calf after birth.2. Another preventative of Black-leg was put a split in the calf's right ear on on the first Friday after its birth.3. Still another preventative for Black-leg was to insert a bit of copper wire in the dew-lap of the beast. It was inserted just under the skin to protrude again and to be knotted in a ring and left permanently there.4. Quite a common custom among the old people was to tie a red string on the cow's tail as a preventative to her being over-lucked by evil minded people.
- Informant
- Michael Brady
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 76
- Address
- Corracreigh, Co. Roscommon
