School: Clochar na Toirbhirte, Cill Áirne
- Location:
- Killarney, Co. Kerry
- Teachers: An tSr. M. Déaglán An tSr. Marie Thérèse
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0456, Page 165
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- Up to the year 1870 the Irish people sowed the flax-seed necessary for their own use. After some months when the flax was ripe, it was pulled by the hand and made into small sheaves. It was then cared to a pool of water in a bog and it was left there for some weeks, covered over with heavy sods. Next, it was taken out of the pool and spread on a bank to dry. Again, it was carted to a field and there it was spread out in layers to bleach.
After a fortnight of dry weather it was gathered up in large bundles, and taken to a house. There it was placed over a fire to harden. When hard, it was taken down and put on the floor where it was pounded with heavy pieces of wood. Then it was picked up and made into "táithín" (little sheaf of flax) ready for cloving. This meant taking the hulls off the fibre with a cloving tongs. The cloving tongs was a piece of wood about four feet in length and four inches in circumference. Attached to one end of it was another piece of wood about eighteen inches long. This was called the "tongue" as it was used chiefly in the act of cloving.
The fibre was next hackled with a hackle. This meant the drawing of the "táithíns" through iron spiked in order to seperate the fine fibre from the coarse fibre. The fine fibre(continues on next page)
- Informant
- Seán Ó Mathghamhna
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Laharan, Co. Kerry
