School: Rossbrin, Béal Átha an Dá Chab (roll number 16079)
- Location:
- Rossbrin, Co. Cork
- Teacher: Cormac Mac Carrthaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0288, Page 402
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- Long ago the people of this country had to make their lights in their own homes.
They dipped the hearts of rushes into some sort of animal fat and light them, this was a very unsteady light. The next light after that was the light of the "splinter." The logs of fir that were found in the peat bogs were called "sculobs". These had a very fine grain and it was possible to cut them into very thin slices or "splinters". When the people went out in the nights hilling birds they carried a handful of lighting "splinters" with them and this was called "splintering." Another light that was used in the olden times was the light of the home made candle. This candle was made by pouring melted animal fat into a mould and placing three or four pieces of strong traced together into the centre of the mould. The light that came after the light of the oil lamp. This lamp was small and cheap and had no glass.
