School: Gortnaskeagh (roll number 16321)

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1. Churning

   

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   In olden times when people churned their milk they had to be very careful with people coming in. A man coming in to light his pipe with a coal out of the fire was very unlucky. Any person who might come in for a coal and bring it was unlucky also, if it occurred while the people were churning. The people of the house when a coal always put on a fresh sod or the smoker to take a brash on the churn. Other things interfered with the successful churning of the milk if certain precaution were not taken. It was often known for people to lose the butter for weeks through these things happ[en]ing. There was one woman in Kinlough near Bundoran who could bring back the butter for any one who lost it. She was often brought for miles to save the buttter from being lost.
   On a May morning those people who usually tried to take the butter went first to the spring well and watches the smoke rising and says, "The butter of that house for me," They also pulled some straws out the thatch of the house and this gave them the power to take their neighbours butter.
   In nearly every country house there is generally a churn kept. Our churn at home is about twenty years

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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

   Collector

   Agnes Loughlin

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Gortnaskeagh, Co. Leitrim

   Informant

   Mrs Mc Tieran

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Morerah, Co. Leitrim