School: Robertson (roll number 13372)

Location:
Ballintra, Co. Donegal
Teacher:
Somhairle Mac Ádhaimh
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1033, Page 116

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1033, Page 116

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  1. XML School: Robertson
  2. XML Page 116
  3. XML “Churning”

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  1. About forty or fifty years ago people did all their churning themselves when there was no such thing as creameries. At nearly every farmhouse there was a dairy or milk house where they kept all their butter and milk. At one time the people churned by hand with a churn dash then they began to churn with horse churning. Machines wrought on the same principal as a horse-thrashing mill. The farmers kept their butter in what they called “butts” which were made of oak and hoops of split rods made by the cooppers who lived in the locality. The butts were made of different sizes, some of them holding fifty-six pounds. There was an old superstition that some people had the power of taking their neighbour’s butter by witch-craft for example
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. economic activities
        1. agriculture (~2,659)
          1. butter and churns (~3,280)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Roland Greene
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Dromore, Co. Donegal