School: Garryross

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1. Travelling Folk

   

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   Travelling folk.

   Travellers are very common in this part of the country. Sometimes you see the same man or woman coming year after year. They of course are very poor and are always very thankful for a penny or a cup of tea. They are also grateful if they get an old pair of shoes or a discarded garment of any kind.
   Very often, what are called peddlers go about carrying a basket of small articles, for which they ask ridiculous prices, rosary beads, laces, needles, pins, small statues, pictures, etc. They get their wares in towns and travel through the country selling them. These little peddlers never beg. They carry their own tea and sugar, bread etc. and are grateful to get boiling water to make their tea. In the small towns there are lodging houses that keep these travellers at night. Their fee is 1/- a night for bed alone.
   Very often families travel together. Thay have vans and horses and camp by the roadside. They often stay in the one place for a couple of weeks. They make tin gallons, and other vessels and go about from house to house selling them. They mend leaking articles as well. These families usually beg from the farmers in the surrounding district such things as milk, butter, potatoes, vegetables, flour, salt, etc.
   Sometimes bands called gipsies travel about. They are usually seen before fairs, making their

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. people by social grouping
         1. travellers (~3,023)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Gertie Gilsenan

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Clonkeiffy, Co. Cavan