School: Skerries (St. Patrick's : Girls) (roll number 16333)
- Location:
- Skerries, Co. Dublin
- Teacher: Caitlín Cadhla
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0784, Page 177
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- Local Cures
Long ago people had no use for doctors, they had some healing powers of their own, and these are some of them.
Garlic is an old cure for weak lungs, they boil it and drink the juice of it. It grows in the fields.
There is a holy well about two miles from Skerries at Balcunnin.. The water in it is a cure for sore throats. Carron oil is a cure for burns or scalds.
An old cure for the tooth-ache is a horse's shoe nail, prod the nail into your tooth and after that bunk it into the wall and as long as it stays there, you will never have the tooth-ache.
The old cure for styes is a gooseberry thorn, point the thorn into the stye every morning and make the sign of the cross with it. The person has to be a Mary. An old cure for warts is a Dandelion stalk; rub the juice on the wart.
There is an old saying, if you are the third Mary in the family, when you grow up, you are supposed to have healing powers.
If seven sons or daughters are born, one after(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Essie Fanning
- Gender
- Female
