School: Ráth gCaola (2) (roll number 10929)

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1. Homemade Toys

   

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   Girls in this district make rag-dolls and golliwogs out of old pieces of cloth and stuff them with old woollen rags, bran or sawdust. They also make necklaces from daisies, berries, and other flowers. Guns made from elder branches, cradle-birds also called cribs, snares, tops, and carving things on turnips and on wood often form amusement for boys. Most of these amusements are still carried on in the district of Rathkeale.

   Elders are the only suitable sticks for making guns as the pith in the middle is easily picked out. When this is done, another stick is cut to the length and thickness of the hole in the elder. A piece of paper when rolled into a hard ball forms a kind of bullet for the gun. When this is put in the hole and the stick pushed quickly in from behind, it will go out in front with a shot.

   Cribs for catching birds are also made yet. Four pieces of elder are tied in a square shape and two cords are tied cross-ways from corner to corner. Then rows of loose elders are placed on top of each other and each row is smaller than the one that preceeded it. in this way the crib becomes a conical shape,and when finished is very secure. Next, a bough is got and is tied to the two back corners and will move very easily. Then a forked-stick is placed in front of the

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. social activities (~7)
         1. entertainments and recreational activities (~5,933)
            1. toys (~1,598)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Rene Baker

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballingarrane, Co. Limerick