School: Ballyhaise
- Location:
- Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: Thos. Plunkett
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0973, Page 396
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- XML School: Ballyhaise
- XML Page 396
- XML “The Care of Our Farm Animals”
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On this page
- A list of farm animals I have at home is two horses, three cows, two pigs, three calves and a donkey. The three cows have got names such as "Spotty, Polly and Betty".
Sometimes "How" is shouted when driving the cows and at other times Billup is shouted. When calling calves to a drink the handle of the bucket is rattled and "suck-suck suck" is shouted.
The cow-house is a house capable of holding four cows. It is fourteen feet in length and twenty feet in breath. The cows are tied in stakes. The chain is attached to a large iron ring and this ring runs up and down the stake so that when the cow lies down the chain drops to the bottom of the stake and is still loose. The chain is tied around the cow's neck. The chain is made of iron. Every Palm Sunday a branch of blessed palm is hung in the byre to bring good luck. Again at Christmas a branch of holly is hung and sometimes a cross is made with the holly leaves to bring good-luck. There is an old custom when the person is done milking to make the sign of the cross with her own milk on her body. There was another old custom of rolling a piece of a blessed candle in a piece of cloth and tying it on the cows' tail to protect them against all witch-craft. The first drops of milk are(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Philip Baxter
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 14
- Address
- Oakwood or Drummully, Co. Cavan
- Informant
- Joseph Baxter
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 68
