School: Oldtown (roll number 7470)
- Location:
- Oldtown, Co. Dublin
- Teacher: M. Ní Ruanaidhe
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0787, Page 60
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- (continued from previous page)the bottom. The sides are sloped at both ends. Strangers who come in take a turn at the churn. It is an old superstition that if they do not there will not be so much butter on the churn. It takes about twenty minutes to do the churning in Summer but it takes longer in Winter. The churning is done by hand. We know when the churning is done when the glass on the lid is clear. Buttermilk is good for cleaning statues, or taking out stains. If too much boiling water is poured into the churn the butter will be white.
A man who was living in Blanchardstown one day was churning the cream. He lived by himself and he used to churn every week. This day he had taken out the buttermilk after churning when a big grey cat fell out of the churn. "Oh, is that where you are, my poor old devil, and I looking for you this fortnight," said he to the cat.
