School: Straleel (roll number 16033)
- Location:
- Srath Laoill, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Brian Ó Breisleáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1043, Page 22
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- Mícheal O Breisleain says that he heard his mother say that she remembered the Famine. She said that her father had a fair amount of potatoes and meal and that it was a common thing to see strangers coming to the house from God knows where, looking for food. There was a very long casán to the house and a person coming to the house could be seen from the house, a mile away.
In that mile there were two or three landmarks, and any poor person who had to rest at the first or second was considered "i ndeire na péice" and the pot was put on the fire at once. Very few passed the third without resting.
She saw people coming to the house so mad with hunger, that some strong person had to stand between them and the food otherwise they would have lifted the boiling porrage in their hands - They could not wait for it to be cooked and to cool.
She saw some of these people eating the potato buds(continues on next page)
- Informant
- Mícheal Ó Breisleáin
- Relation
- Unknown
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 64
- Occupation
- Feirmeoir
- Address
- An Charraig, Co. Donegal
