School: Cúige (roll number 10773)
- Location:
- An Cúige Láir, Co. Mhaigh Eo
- Teacher: Mícheál Ó Briain
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0108, Page 013
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- XML School: Cúige
- XML Page 013
- XML “Lime Burning”
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- (continued from previous page)exclude the draught, and layers of turf and stone are put in at intervals averaging about one-and-a-half hours. The lime-burner stays up that night to attend to it. When he sees the blaze shooting up at the top he applies more material. If he is superstitious he will have somebody with him through the night, lest the fairies throw him into the kiln. When all the limestone has been thrown in he stacks the remaining turf, mostly damp or wet, over the kiln, and sometimes turf mould plastered over it and so keeps the blaze and heat down in the centre 'till all the limestone is well burnt. He may go to bed then and it will burn away for another twelve hours or more, 'till all the stone is the colour of chalk and each fragment of stone is nearly twice it's former size.
The heat has not left the kiln for some days. If the heat has not been sufficient the stone is not burnt through. It is tested by throwing water on a sample of the burnt stones and if it crumbles up into a white powder - with a sizzling noise - it is well burned.
The fresh lime is called roast lime and is a good disinfectant and good for bog-land.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Pearl Salmon
- Gender
- Female
