School: Clashaganny (roll number 8051)

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1. Irish Industries

   

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   Long ago the people were very industrious they made all their own clothes out of Flax which was a very troublesome process. A large area of land was cultivated and flax planted. In the harvest it was cut stooked the same as oats or wheat. After sometime it was taken and put to steep in a boghole and left so for several weeks. When removed from the boghole it was spread on the ground in order to dry. A large barn was built in Bally daly for the purpose of Heckling flax. All the girls of the village collected at night and they also came from Manor and when the heckling was done they had a dance. There was no tea in them times. instead they roasted potatoes and ate them with milk which they drank out of noggins. After the flax being heckled it was taken to Manor where there was a waving industry carried on, and it was woven into cloth. Spinning was another industry that was carried on in Bally daly. The wool was carded and spun into thread, the old people had their own method of dying worsted, they used the bark of a tree for a purple dye, and picked heather and boiled it for red dye. Everyone brought his own spinning wheel to this barn and all collected there at night to spin. This went on for a number of years until there was a gang organised to destroy peoples property, these men went around at night and

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Nancy Boyle

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballydaly, Co. Roscommon

   Informant

   John Tiernan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballydaly, Co. Roscommon