School: Gort Buidhe (roll number 14509)

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1. An Tiarna Talún

   

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   In the olden times the rents on the farms in this locality were six or seven times greater than they are at present. Farmers had great difficulty in paying those rents. There were two gale days: the May gale and the November gale. The rent should be paid punctually and if the farmer was one penny short of the amount when he paid the agent, he would be thrown out of the office door and made provide the money. Farmers had to save up every penny and shilling for the gale day. They often had to starve themselves and their children to keep the money together.
   Farmers who paid a high rent kept this money in a stocking under the bed, or in a pot outside in a dry fence.They went in terror lest some one came and stole this money. It was a custom also when a farmer had a good bulk sum like this, he got cowardly and took it to the landlord to keep it safely for him. In this way the landlord were very friendly with some tenants, and of course they did not care about those who were slow in paying. When the landlord had a good sum of money belonging to a farmer, he tried to keep it and a good plan was to give him the first farm that became vacant.
   When a farmer built a house he did not sink a foundation for it, because he did not know how long he would be in possession of the place. If

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. place-space-environment
      1. land management (~4,110)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Domhnall Ó Cróinín

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Gortboy, Co. Kerry

   Informant

   Domhnall Ó Cróinín

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Gortboy, Co. Kerry