School: Grianán (roll number 13178)

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1. The Houses of Long Ago

   

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   There was little care taken of the houses of long ago. The walls were built of stones without any mortar and the roof was made of sticks and scraws and was thatched with heather. There used to be a bed in the kitchen which was back a little bit from the fire where the old women of the house slept. It was called the "cailleac." There was but one window with no glass through which the air and sunshine came during the day, but at night the people used to stick a bit of plaited straw in the hole. There was only one door which was tied by a string to a nail and the people used to have to stoop down when they were going out or going in.

   There was no fire-place in the houses but the fire used to be built in the middle of the floor and a hole was made in the roof instead of a chimney to let the smoke out. The floor was made of mud and the hens and ducks used to be in the kitchen. The ass used to be tied at the end of the kitchen. The people had no chairs or stools but instead used stumps of blocks and if a neighbour came in they would give him a creel to sit on. They never white-washed their little huts so they could be distinguished from the rocks.

   The people of long ago used not cut any turf but it was mostly bog-deal they burned. The kind of light they used at night was a candle made of bog-deal

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. buildings
            1. residential buildings (~2,723)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Bridgie Timlin

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Gort, Co. Mayo