School: Balrath (1) (roll number 9770)
- Location:
- Balrath, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: C. Ní Pharthaláin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0719, Page 256
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- XML “Basket-Making”
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- Long ago every householder had a hedge of sallows at the end of his garden. These were used for basket making. The baskets were cleeves, crandys, skhibs, and market baskets. The man of the house was able to make the other cleeves and crandys but it took a trades-man to make the other and one of these tradesmen was almost in every district. The cleeves and crandys were made from unpeeled sallows and the other baskets were made from peeled sallows, for the skhibs and market-baskets the sallows used were all about the same thickness. First they had to be boiled so that they could be peeled easily and to make the rods pliable. When the rods were boiled the entire family, including children, started to peel them this was all done at night the following night the basket-maker came and kept at his work until he had finished. The cleeves were used for carrying heavy loads such as turnips, cabbage etc. and they were always carried on the(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Annie Smyth
- Gender
- Female
- Informant
- Hughy Cooney
