School: Dunshaughlin

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1. Ancient Crafts (continued)

   

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   from the rods he cut chiefly in the bog near the village. When he died in 1930 nobody carried on the trade. It is rarely one sees baskets of this type in use now in the locality. Leather bags have taken their place (Information given by Ita Murray, Dunshaughlin)

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2. Ancient Crafts

   

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   In the present year 1937, there is only one man in the locality who knows the art of thatching. He is Michael Coldrick and lives in Lagore with his sister. Straw (that is left after the oats is threshed or wheaten straw (obtained in the same way from wheat) are most commonly used for thatching. The straw is damped at first and made into bundles of about 2 or 3 feet long. The thatcher has a peculiar instrument called a fork consisting of a short handle and 2 prongs about 6" apart. He draws some straw from the bundle and places it in a strip lengthways on the roof. He pushes it into place with the fork and binds it firmly with rods already prepared and pointed at both ends. These rods are called "scallops". He continues laying the straw in stripes lengthwise until he reaches from the top of the roof to the eve of it. Then he trims the ends of the straw and leaves 1/2 foot or so projecting over the wall of the house. Reeds are considered better than straw for thatching as they last longer.

   Information given by K. Gallagher Dunshaughlin

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

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