School: Ballynacally, Inis (roll number 2189)
- Location:
- Ballynacally, Co. Clare
- Teacher: Tomás Ó Cuinneagáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0604, Page 089
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“Long ago people made their own clothes from flannel and woolen.”
Long ago people made their own clothes from flannel and woollen. The sheep were washed before they were shorn. When the wool was shorn it was again washed with soap and water. It was then dried combed and corded. When carding the wool unsalted butter was used instead of oil. Two wooden spades were used for making the wool into rolls. A heavy stone was then placed on the rolls to press them.
The rolls were then spun into thread, the thread was then wound into balls usually weighting ten or twelve pounds. The threads were singled out and warped. Twelve feet of a wall was required for the warping, pegs were placed at different positions along the wall. The threads were netted through the pegs. It was then plaited to prevent it from tangling and again made into balls. It was next sent to the weaver and made into cloth, then it was washed, dried, and made into suits, jackets or "banins". It had then to be sent to the dyeing mills to be dyed black.
Some people made their own dye. This was made in the following way - A pot of water was got from a rushy part of the land. The wool was put into the pot, a number of olive branches are broken and placed on the wool, then a "coat" of black alluvium was put over this and the water is poured on. It was then boiled, and when boiled it was left beside the fire for four days. It was then taken out of the dye-pot, washed and dried. Some white wool was then mixed with the black wool(continues on next page)