School: Baile Feárnach

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1. Tithe na Seanaimsire (continued)

   

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   the kitchen just big enough for a bed. In this bed the old people of the house slept because it was near the fire. This bed was called "the hag" or "the cailleac". There were two doors in each house and those were closed by bolt or sticks. All houses in those days were built in hollow ground so as to get protection from storms.
   The back door was closed by putting a thick stick across the back of it. The stick was let into the wall at each side.
   Those houses had chimneys but in the poorer class of houses there was only a hole in the roof to let out the smoke. The first chimneys around this place were square shaped. They were made of wattles and rods and plastered over with lime.
   The people burned turf and bogdeal. Some old people in this place used to burn dry cow dung. Any cows crows seen picking it would be driven away.
   Dried chips of bog deal provided the light in those days. Most houses also used much candles. They were very much used in this place. They were made by peeling the rushes and steeping the

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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

   Collector

   Annie K. Flynn

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cloonlavis Upper, Co. Mayo