School: Rathmullan (roll number 14224)
- Location:
- Rathmullan, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: M. Ó Dochartaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1088, Page 120
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- XML School: Rathmullan
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- XML “Homemade Toys”
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- Being at the seaside the children of Rathmullan make a lot of boats and fishing lines. There are many different ways of making these toys,
To make a boat an old tin box is used. The tin is first flattened out into an oblong shape and then bent in two and the sides hammered together. A piece of (wool) wood is inserted in the middle for a seat. A hole is bored in it with a hot poker and a stick is stuck in for a mast. Stones are then but in to balance it. Another type of boat, though much simpler made, is the cork boat. For this a cork and a feather are needed. The feather is stuck in the cork and in a windy day it sails like a yacht.
There are many ways of making fishing lines but the crab line is the most common. To make it a length of cord, a sinker and some bait are needed. The neck of a bottle or a stone is substituted for the sinker and barnacles for the bait. The barnacles grow on rocks and are hammered off with a stone and threaded on to the cord. The bait is tied to the bottom of the line and the sinker is tied about a foot above.
Another sort of line is made to catch trout!(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Gwendoline Harkin
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 14
- Address
- Rathmullan, Co. Donegal
