School: Málainn (roll number 13949)

Location:
Malin, Co. Donegal
Teacher:
Eilís Nic Uilcín
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1124, Page 282

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1124, Page 282

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  1. People in olden times were very good at thatching houses and corn stacks and hay stacks. They always grew lint for thatching their houses. The lint was far better than straw or rushes as it lasted for five or six years and the straw and rushes had to be replaced every year. The poorer people thatched with straw and rushes.
    People always roped their houses with straw ropes. They roped them across and up and down. They did them very neatly and fastened them securely to strong pegs in the wall. A very calm day is chosen for thatching. The man first removes the ropes and old covering and puts on a fresh even layer of straw or flax. He sits or rests on a ladder and works his way across. He places a flat piece of board across at the lower edge to hold the thatch in position until he gets it roped.
    A second man helps to rope. The top ridge is neatly thatched. The thatch is put right across to make it water-tight.
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. economic activities
        1. trades and crafts (~4,680)
          1. thatching (~353)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Isaac Smyth
    Gender
    Male