School: Tír-Dhá-Ghlas (Terryglass)

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   “Other items gathered from old people who had some interesting things to tell of other parishes other than Terryglass.”

   

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   This was meant in jest or rebuke seeing that the priest had the ill manners to call out "stations" for people's homes without their consent. As everyone knows the custom of holding stations in people's homes was a grand religious one. For days previous to this beautiful event the family to be visited were unusually busy scrubbing, washing, scouring and whitewashing the house from top to bottom, inside and outside.
   The bean a' tige and the girls were all the time on tip-toe making sure that the china was spotless, that the knives and spoons got an extra strong rubbing of bath-brick. The table-cloth, too, was given special attention; that should be as white as the driven snow but who could make it purer after the hands of the women fifty years ago, or more.
   Yes, it was a noted event in the rural homesteads - no less a person than the parish priest sitting down to his breakfast in the little parlours. Then, how carefully the fresh loaf was placed near his reverence! Plain country bread was not considered royal enough for God's messenger of love and peace on that holy morning. But the wise pastor valued rightly the substantial home-made bread and pushed aside the intruding loaf.
   The current of conversation was set in motion, when anxious appetites were slightly relieved. The priest began it, the man and woman of the house followed and then practically all the table joined in the pleasant chat.
   (Please excuse the digression, but it was a pity the "stations" were not included in your items. They would unearth many interesting things)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. genre
      1. poetry
         1. folk poetry (~9,504)

   Language

   English