School: Glasdrumman (roll number 6046)

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1. Churning

   

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   We have a churn at home. It is three feet high, a foot and three quarters at the top and two feet at at the bottom. The sides are round and it is twenty years old. The various parts are called the cosheen the top and the bottom. There is no mark on it.
   When you would have a good many cows you would churn twice or three times a week in the winter and every day in the summer. Every one in the house helps at the churning. When strangers come in they always help because if they don't the people of the house would say they would bring away the butter.
   It takes an hour and a half to churn properly and it is done by hand. The churn-dash is moved upwards and downwards. When the butter is churned it comes up in big lumps and the dash is clean with no butter stuck to it. There are plenty of old stories about the making of butter.
   Long ago nobody would give any milk to a neigbour on May Eve because if they did they would have no butter that year. And when a person would steal butter the man it was stolen on would go round the churn three times and then the thief would squeal.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. butter and churns (~3,280)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Mrs C. O' Connor

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Glasdrumman, Co. Leitrim