School: Coill an tSrotha (roll number 5352)
- Location:
- Cullentragh, Co. Leitrim
- Teacher: Ss. Mac Dhorchaidh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0197, Page 466
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- XML School: Coill an tSrotha
- XML Page 466
- XML “Travelling Folk”
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- In this district there are a lot of travelling folk going around from house to house begging a little flour, meal, bacon, milk, or eggs. The number of travelling people who generally come to a place [?] a time are husband, wife, and sometimes a few children. The man makes tin cans, porringers and strainers and sometimes he repairs pots, ovens, creamery cans and lamps. The woman and the children go around from house to house selling the tins and they generally get some little thing as alms in each house. When a number of travellers come to a district they generally remain there for about a week during which time the farmers, living near the place where the tinkers put up their tent, are tormented with them as they take bushes out of gaps and burn them for fire-wood. Sometimes when the wife is not very successful in the selling of the tins made by the husband, a row is set up between them and the guard has to be brought to the scene. Then the guard threatens him with his baton and chases them away from that place altogether. The most common names of those tramps are - O'Neill, Summers, and O'Reilly. The special time they come is on the 8th May or the 12th of July-fair days in Manorhamilton. When a donkey brays it is a sure sign that a tinker is dead.
- Informant
- John Mc Morrow
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 69
- Address
- Cullentragh, Co. Leitrim
