School: St Mary's, Buncrana

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   “There were two kinds of travellers many years ago.”

   

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   and could give the people in the country all the news they wanted about the townsfolk in which they were interested. They usually lighted their pipes and smoked while they discussed the latest happenings. They got meal or potatoes or both. This was called a charity.
   They talked of many things and often they told of novenas being made and of sermons they had heard in church on week evenings. They talked of their being at Morning Mass. Sometimes they told of cures. One old woman told a lady at whose house she called how she could cure her nose by a politice of raw grated carrots. One old man_a very old man, used to pay visits to different houses. He would arrive at a certain house with his belongings in a wheelbarrow and the barrow, squealing for the want of oil announced his coming, long before he got to the house.
   He got a bed of straw in the barn and had his bed clothes with him.
   He went to the houses during the day and returned at night At the end of a week or so he would start off for some other locality.
   The pedlars had their wares in an oilcloth, and carried these on their backs.
   They chatted and told the news and happenings.
   They always had much news to tell and much to talk of.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. people by social grouping
         1. travellers (~3,023)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Lily O' Donnell

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Buncrana, Co. Donegal

   Informant

   Mr Finnegan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Slavary, Co. Donegal