School: Clochar na Toirbhirte, Cill Áirne

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1. Houses of Long Ago

   

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   About 200 years ago the people were very poor and the country was thickly populated. This meant that the houses were numerous and in the poorer districts, were to be found close together on clusters of seven or eight houses. The houses were small, built of mud and rushes and roofed with thatch. In most of the houses the family usually numbered, on an average, from six to sixteen children.

   There were only two apartments in each house a room and a kitchen. There was only one door to each house and a very small window consisting of one pane of glass. In those days the English laws were so strict and cruel and the Irish people were so burdened with taxation that they were obliged to pay extra if they had more than one window in the house. Most of the houses were built in hollow places and in this way they were sheltered.

   The floor was generally made of mud and as (?) were not in common use in those days, the floor was swept clean by a broom. The hearth was easily got in bogs. The chimney was generally made of stone and mud. In the very older times there were no chimneys so the smoke was left out by means of holes in the roofs. Before glass come into common use, the windows were made of lattice wires. When the people were unable to pay their rents they were evicted and consequently they had to go to America or...

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. buildings
            1. residential buildings (~2,723)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Seán Ó Mathghamhna

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Laharan, Co. Kerry