School: Cromadh (B.)

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   “And when great deeds are for the telling, let there be a man from Croom to tell of the glory of cutting a seventy acre field of waving golden wheat and that in a reaper's day.”

   

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   and the native buoyancy of spirit that effervescent in smile, and banter and repartee and silvery laugh, was almost quenched in the memory of the dreadful horrors they had gone through.

   The great wheat field lay in a triangle between the roads which converge from Kilfinny and Ballingarry met a Carraigeen, almost at the summit of that little hill. It lay entirely on the western slope and had been set in ridges two paces in width. As the reapers arrived they were marshalled in batches at various points, by the foremen of the proud lord of all this waving gold. when the binders and reapers had been allocated to their positions the signal was given, and as one man, "in the name of god", the bainin clad workers made their first draw. Two men reaped and one woman bound each ridge, and soon on every side the tightly bound sheaves lay on the ridges like the first casualties after the initial advance of a notorious army.

   And when the sun was high above Morenane, south from the garden, the signal for dinner was given. Old men long dead now, God rest them, told of the tumultuous shout of welcome with which the dinner was hailed. Irish was more general than English, especially among the older men and women, but among the younger, the cry in English of

   "Beef, beer and bread
   Sheaf, take care of your head".

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. gníomhaíochtaí
      1. gníomhaíochtaí eacnamaíocha
         1. talmhaíocht (~2,659)

   Language

   English