Thatching
There are many thatched housesaround the village. Those houses are the very oldest in the district. Thatching is therefore an old craft carried on in Mulhuddart. The men who thatch the houses are Mr Blackburn, Mr Fay and Mr O'Neill. First of all straw is got and put in bundles and each straw is of the same length. Water is then thrown on the bundles of straw. Some of the old thatch is taken off before the thatching begins. The thatcher has generally a boy attending on him. The boy takes the straw and carries it on to the roof to the thatcher. The tools that are used are,the thatching rake, the thatching fork and scalops. A scalop is a crooked stick. The wood usually used for scalops is sally - rods. The man stays on the roof and the boy brings up the little bundles to him. Those little bundles are called "Wangles". He twists the wangles around the top of his thatching fork and pushes it into the old thatch. He thatches the roof into yards until the roof is thatched. There he