School: Pallaskenry (roll number 12631)

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1. The Thatcher

   

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   Thatching as a trade held its own until quite recently, and even still the thatcher may be seen at work, as there are several thatched houses in the locality. In fact thatched farmhouses are in the majority and it was not until the eighties of the last century that slate houses came into favour and, even then farmers could not afford the cost, unless assisted by the landlord. This happened in some rare cases, notably the Caulfield Estate on which there are several good houses.

   The chief thatcher of the parish was Patrick Murphy, Coolbeg, Kildimo who plied his trade until his death in 1913. He was considered the best thatcher of his time. The materials used were wheaten reed, which was threshed by a process known as scutching, which means each sheaf was beaten on a stone until all the grain was removed. The sheaves were made small and tidy for that purpose, always from corn cut with a hook or sickle.

   Houses are now mostly thatched with

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. trades and crafts (~4,680)
            1. thatching (~353)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Fitzgerald

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   15

   Address

   Ballydoole, Co. Limerick