School: Coill-Chéim (roll number 9044)
- Location:
- Calhame, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Seán Mac Cuinneagáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1038, Page 3
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- XML School: Coill-Chéim
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- XML “Churning”
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- We have a churn at home.It is about one foot and nine inches at the bottom. It is two feet high. The sides are round and it gets wide towards the bottom and top. It was made by a cooper in Donegal named Hammond. It is about forty years old. The various parts are called the churnstaff, the dash, the staves, and the lid. There is one mark on the lip which corresponds with the mark on the lid so that the buttermilk will not overflow. Butter is made three times a week in the Summer and once a week in the Winter. My father and mother do the churning and we help sometimes. It was the custom long ago when any stranger would come in during the work to take a turn [at the] at the churn to put luck on the butter. The work lasts one hour in the Summer and about one hour and a quarter in the Winter.It is done by hand. The churnstaff is moved upwards and downwards and it is given a rolling motion. When little pieces of butter appear on the lid about the size of a barley grain, then the butter is churned. Warm water is poured in during the process in the Winter and cold water(continues on next page)
- Informant
- P. Mc Closkey
