School: Cnoc na Groighe (B.), Ráth Mhór

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1. Old Customs (continued)

   

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   homes and in a day or two the girl’s father and a few male relatives paid a visit to the boy’s house where a good supply of whiskey - which was cheap in those days was waiting for them. All accompanied by the man’s father and some male relatives went through the farm and farmyard. The quality of the land, the fences, the water supply for the cattle, the cattle themselves, the horse or two, the dry stock, the cowhouses, the haggard and the supply of fodder for the hard Spring were closely examined. and complaints on the one side and excuses on the other brought the party back to the house where some more whiskey was drunk and if satisfied the girl’s people suggested a day for the visit to the solicitor ”to do the bindings”, which meant to write and sign the Agreements. Often the dowry or fortune was lowered at the “seeing of the land” rather than “break the match”. A match broken was bad for either party or perhaps both. It meant that the boy’s place wasn’t a good living for the girl or that the girl wasn’t a suitable wife for the man and in all future arrangements of this kind the farmer would be offered less fortune and the girl should offer more money to get an equally good place. A father ‘fortuning’ his daughter was a

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Languages

   Irish

   English

   Collector

   Díarmuid Ó Múimhneacháin

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Príomhoide