School: Gortermone
- Location:
- Gortermone, Co. Leitrim
- Teacher: Mrs A. O' Reilly
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- XML “Candle-Making”
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- The old people made rush & resin candles. I have seen the rush candles made but not the resin. They peeled the thick rushes called locally (Bull-rushes) and placed them on the loft to dry. In a long, narrow shaped vessel called a (grisset) they melted fat placed a handful of the dried peeled rushes in the melted fat, cooled them & then lit them. The candle-sti[ck?] being a soft turf with the candles placed in small holes round about.
John McCabe[?] Gortermore tells me that reisin was boiled in the grisset, a selvedge of corduroy very narrow was procured twisted The boiled reisin was poured into a thin candlestick (made of tin or iron) something like what was used long ago to hold slate petals[?] the corduroy wick was drawn thro' the middle of the small pipe or candlestick previously full of hot reisin, all was cooled & the candle pulled out of the shape, wick lighted & so reisin candle.- Informant
- John Melalie
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Gortermone, Co. Leitrim