School: Belcarra (Buachaillí)

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1. Old Houses

   

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   There is one old house in my village. There are two rooms and a kitchen in it. There is also a loft in it. There is a Cailleach in the kitchen. The old people used to sleep in the cailleach. It is near the fire. There are three windows in it were very small. In some old houses they had wire instead of glass in the olden times. The floor in it was made of mortar. The old people say the mortar floors were warmer than the cement ones. The fireplace is in the middle of the house. The fireplace is very big and there is a hob each side of it. There are two doors in it. There is a wooden bolt in each. They also had another bolt called the Maide Eamuin for securing it at night. It was thatched with rushes and heather and flax. You can see the flax yet. There is a hasp on each of the room doors. Long ago there was a line of wooden pegs for hanging things on. There were were holes in the walls also. The people used to leave their pipes, and tea and a lot of other things in them. Over the rafters there is a lot of thin rods. There is also a settle-bed in it. It is like a press. You can sleep in it at night, and when you close it you can sit on it.

   

   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

   John Dempsey

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Loona More, Co. Mayo

   Informant

   Patrick Dempsey

   Relation

   Parent

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   50