School: Ballynacally, Inis (roll number 2189)
- Location:
- Ballynacally, Co. Clare
- Teacher: Tomás Ó Cuinneagáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0604, Page 084
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- The seed of the flax is grown like any ordinary seed and when ripe it is pulled from the root not cut. It is then stooked and left to dry. Then it is taken and put into a bog hole and left there for a few weeks. Then it is removed from the bog hole and spread out to dry. When dry it is taken into the barn and pounded with pounders they kept for the purpose. Then the owners of the flax invite five or six girls who have got the name of good "clovers". The house is cleared and then the girls sit down on bags of hay. They get a cloving tongs made of timber. Then they get a "strick" of flax put it into the mouth of the "cloving tongs" and they draw the cloving tongs from the centre of the "strick" and continue until that side is cloved. When they have that "strick" done, they leave it on the back of a chair and they get a new supply and continue on cloving it. At nightfall then the house is cleared. The girls put on their clean white blouses. A crowd of neighbouring boys and girls used to come in and dance until about twelve o'clock . They(continues on next page)
