School: Cill Fhearga (roll number 15128)
- Location:
- Killarga, Co. Leitrim
- Teacher: Mícheál Ó Gallchobhair
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0202, Page 318
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- XML School: Cill Fhearga
- XML Page 318
- XML “Churning”
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- Churning
I have a churn at home. It is almost three foot and a half high, and two feet and three inches wide. The sides of it are rounded in shape. Our churn is almost eighteen years old.
The principal parts of it are called the churns ash, the crib, the lid and the bottom of it. The butter is made once each week in the Winter, and twice each week in the Summer.
My mother and my sister does the churning. Whenever strangers come in during the churning they always take a "brash", that is to churn for a few minutes. They do this because people say that in the olden times this is a rule.
It takes about an hour and a quarter to complete the churning. Our churning is done by hand. The churn dash is always moved upwards and downwards. It is never given a rolling motion from side to side. Before milk is churned it is left in big pans until it gets thick. The people know when the butter is made when there are no small pieces of butter on the churn dash.
Warm water is always poured in during the process. This is done to heat the milk, and to bring on the butter quicker. First a wooden dish, a strainer and a butter trowel is got. Then boiling water is poured on them(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Lizzie Ann O' Rourke
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Darkvalley, Co. Leitrim
- Informant
- Mrs E. Carty
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 78
- Address
- Darkvalley, Co. Leitrim
