School: Druim (roll number 16557)
- Location:
- Drum, Co. Galway
- Teacher: Máiréad Ní Dhubháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0051, Page 0281
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- XML “Uses Made of Straw”
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- Straw-mats were in very common use long ago. A mat was always kept under the cleeves on a donkey's back to prevent is being chafed.
When making a mat, a large quantity of straw was required, and three parts of it were plaited together first, then three more, and so on, until the mat was finished. A mat was always kept on the floor, and it was made in the same way.
There were nests made out of straw for the hens for laying, and they were called "simnogs". These nests were made very wide, thick and round, and like a mat in the bottom. They were about a foot high, and an opening was left in the side to allow the hens to go in and out as they pleased. Two long straw ropes were fastened to the sides of the nest, and the whole business hung from the roof, to within two feet of the ground. It was able to hold twenty hens.
In the olden times, poor people often no glass for their windows, and instead they put in a straw-mat. This kept out the cold, even though it did not serve the purpose of seeing through, or(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Delia Rafferty
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 14
- Address
- Larraga, Co. Galway
- Informant
- Dora Rafferty
- Relation
- Parent
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 45
- Address
- Larraga, Co. Galway
