School: Dún Gar (Frenchpark) (roll number 3961)
- Location:
- Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Tomás Mac Mághnuis
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0243, Page 352
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- (continued from previous page)by them three quarters of a century ago.
William Morriss was the hatter, but their trade has not been practised
now for over a century.
An old man called Higgins was the pump sinker and water diviner combined.
Of course we had our butchers and bakers. But the baker had to do much more than bake and make. He had to build the oven. This is the only place in which I ever saw a form of grouting used instead of mortar. Sand was not used but thick heavy clayey daub, and on the only occasion I ever saw an oven built we had great fun. The donkey loads of daub were got
in the fairgreen and thrown near where the bakehouse was. Then water was thrown on it and all of us boys and girls started to stomp and spread it out under our bare feet. Some big farmer who had just bled his cattle then sent in a barrel of blood, this was thrown on the daub, and we we did mix it I tell you treading the mixture of blood and daub under our feet. In the meanwhile the baker had placed turf inside the side walls of the new oven and had the sods carefully curved on top. Now he went up on the turf laid down his bricks line by line, as he laid them he threw in(continues on next page)
