School: Castletowngeoghegan (B.) (roll number 2092)
- Location:
- Castletown Geoghegan, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: T. Ó Conaire
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0734, Page 286
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Travelling Folk
Travelling people call to my house a couple of times each week. The most of them are very poor. The sell campher, floor mats, holy pictures, boot laces, boot polish, looking glasses, tin cans, and delph. They do not stop in peoples houses at night they put up a hut on the side of the road and sleep in it. They do not be badly off for food. They get food in the houses as they go along the road. At night when the people are asleep they poach rabbits. When they see that a farmer is not at home, they go into his farmyard and steal eggs or a chicken if they see any.
The travelling folk that are known best round this part of the country are the Gavins, Ratigans, Joyces, Donohues, Powers, Greenes, and the Maloneys. Every year the tinkers crown a king of their own. Last year they crowned Brian Gavin as their king.
The families that frequently visit us are the Gavins and the Donohues. The rest of the travelling folk come to this part of the country for the races of Kilbeggan every year. They camp in a place called Lilliput a couple of miles from Castletown. Sometimes they stop in Jamestown about a mile from Castletown(continues on next page)
- Collector
- J. Hyland
- Gender
- Male
- Informant
- M. Coffey
- Address
- Adamstown, Co. Westmeath
