School: Presentation Brothers' School, Cóbh
- Location:
- Cóbh, Co. Cork
- Teacher: An Bráthair Ó Doghair
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0385, Page 369
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- Nearly all the farmers' houses on the Great Island are thatched. The farmers keep the thatch in repair themselves now but long ago there used to be a professional thatcher or two on the island. Usually the thatcher was a small farmer whose home was on the Island. He was respected wherever he went. Two noted thatchers on the Island were Mr Cunningham and Mr O'Mahony. Mr Cunningham had a small farm at Ashgrove. Mr O'Mahony had a similar holding at Belgrove. They were both widely respected and were perpetually at work. If a farmer wanted a thatcher he would have to wait his turn. Every year each farmer used to grow an acre or so of wheat in a special place. When it was ripe it was never threshed with other corn. It was brought into the haggard and threshed separately so that the straw would remain straight and unbroken. When it was carefully threshed with a flail it was piled in a stack and carefully guarded from the weather. Then the farmer and his family would have to prepare the "scallops" which were used to keep the thatch in position. First of all furze were cut and brought into the farmyard. The best sticks were then picked out. These were the young long shoots which were then made smooth and fit(continues on next page)
