School: Teach Chaoin (C.) (roll number 6681)

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1. Old Irish Dwellings

   

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   In the time of our grandparents the houses were very small and were called "boiáins," and they were always built in a hollow, for fear of being knocked by the wind.

   The walls were made of stones, and straw cut up small, and clay, and "doab" to make it stick. The rafters were made of bog oak, and the roof was made of "scraws" that were got in the bog, the houses were thatched with "seisc"
   or rushes, there were no "scollips" but a straw rope across the roof and tied at each end with a flag.

   Sometimes the fire was made in the middle of the floor, usually it was made at the gable, and there would be two posts coming about three feet down from the roof, and rods were woven from one post to the other and plastered with clay, this was the chimney they had, and there would be a hole in the roof for the smoke to go out, and this was called the "rod chimney".

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Kathleen Mc Hugh

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Drumshinnagh, Co. Mayo

   Informant

   Mr James Mc Hugh

   Relation

   Parent

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Drumshinnagh, Co. Mayo