School: Carraig Áluinn (roll number 16.474)
- Location:
- Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim
- Teacher: Pádhraic Mag Uidhir
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0228, Page 054
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- (continued from previous page)accomplished by placing the hand, back downwards, on the ground with the first and second fingers of the hand around the spike. By giving the spinning top a little tip of the first finger it was shot into the middle of the hand and continued spinning there. Some boys never could learn to do this and often the revolving spike took off the skin of the fingers on the inside."The Ring"After spinning the tops like this and lifting them for some time the boys agreed to "peg a ring". A ring about 3 or 4 feet in diameter was drawn on the road, and the object of the game was to get some boy's top into this ring by the following means. First it was agreed how many "hoaks" this boy's top would get from each of the other boys at the end of the game. Now "hoaks" were holes or indentations made on the head of the top by the spike of another top. No boy liked to get "hoaks" in his top as its appearance was thereby very much spoiled. So no boy wished to have his top enter the ring. The method of giving the "hoaks" will be explained later. They agreed upon 3 hoaks, 5 hoaks or 7 hoaks - generally 5.
To decide whose top would go down on the ground first they took aim at a coin, button, or small stone by "pegging" the top at it. The(continues on next page)
