School: Loughteague, Stradbally (roll number 6129)
- Location:
- Loughteeog, Co. Laois
- Teachers: Brigid Keane Brighid Ní Chatháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0837, Page 164
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- (continued from previous page)No wakes are held in barns in this locality. The custom of keeping linen - towels, sheets etc - for wakes specially no longer [?], though it existed years ago before while calico became so common. The poorer people may borrow bedlinen from neighbours, but there is no special linen in fact "linen" made from flax is becoming very rare being replaced by white cotton goods."Keening" the dead was never heard by any of the old people, but before their time women "keened" at funerals.The remains are always born to graveyard by hearse nowadays. Before people could afford a hearse the coffin was carried on a wooden bier supported on men's shoulders. It was never carried on a horse and cart.Some old women insist on removing all [?], mattresses and the like from the bed on which a person died. They then fill bags with clean straw and place these on bed for corpse. In Ballygormill an old family died off about 12-16 years ago. Two old brothers and a sister they were up to 70-81 or 82 years. The old sister "left it to her death" that the beds on which they died should be destroyed after their death. These beds were feather [?]. Her wishes were carried out.
Some place the straw-filled bags on the bed before the death occurs and leave them on instead of [?] or mattress during wake.
