School: Roisín (roll number 12395)
- Location:
- Rusheen, Co. Cork
- Teacher: Cáit, Bean Uí Chorcoráin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0343, Page 131
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- XML “Old Cures”
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- The old Irish people had several ways of curing ailments but they nearly all have died out except where there are old people. Some people go to Tobar Dearg to cure toothaches or rheumatism and they go to Ballyvourney to cure ailments also.
Long ago they used to think if you drank dandelions steeped by the fire that it would cure pains in the bones, and a dock-leaf was used to cure blisters and other skin diseases. There was once a girl who used to get sore eyes and there was a man who had power to cure many diseases. Before eating anything in the morning he used to blow his breath on her eyes. He did this for nine mornings and after that she never got sore eyes. A foxes tongue was used to extract thorns or needles or any small object out of the body. The water that was used for cooling iron was said to be a cure for removing warts.
The wild sage was supposed to be a cure for headaches and the rib leaf was a cure for cuts in the hand. Sugar and soap was a cure for skin diseases and a red piece of flannel was used to cure diseases in the chest. Cold tea was a cure for sore eyes and bread-soda was used for curing burns.
- Collector
- Judy Cronin
- Gender
- Female
