School: Baile Nua an Fhaoitigh (roll number 9040)

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1. Old Houses

   

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   All the houses in this district up to eighty years ago had thatched roofs, many of them are still thatch. The thatch was procurred from straw from which the wheat had been beaten. In each house was an out-shot off the kitchen and in this outshot stood a large "taester" bed. The fireplace was always at the gable-wall. The front of the chimney was usually made of stone and mortar. There were one or two houses in the district having no chimney, the fire was lit in the centre of the house on the floor, the smoke went out the door.

   The floors were made of clay hardened with trampling and constant wear. There are still a few houses having the half door, some years ago this was common every house in the district had one.

   Turf and sticks were the cheap firing used and they are still the staple fuel in the district. Bog-deal was frequently burned for the purpose of giving light through the house. A piece of carduory [?] dipped in fat or oil was put in to a bottle and the end place in an [??] to serve as light. They also used a cotton thread dipped in fat, it was put into a mould and when frozen used as a candle.

   

   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

   Location

   Newtownwhite, Co. Mayo

   Collector

   William Jackson

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Newtownwhite, Co. Mayo

   Informant

   Margaret Gardiner

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Newtownwhite, Co. Mayo