1. dúchas.ie
  2. The Schools' Collection
  3. Ceathrú na Laithighe (Brownsgrove)

School: Ceathrú na Laithighe (Brownsgrove) (roll number 12138)

Location:
Brownsgrove, Co. Galway
Teacher:
Pádhraic Ó hAnnracháin
Browse
Mode:
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0040, Page 0494

Archival Reference

The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0040, Page 0494

Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.

See copyright details.

Download

Open data

Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

  1. XML School: Ceathrú na Laithighe (Brownsgrove)
  2. XML Page 0494
  3. XML “Potatoes”

Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.

On this page

  1. Potatoes (continued)

    Share Share Post
    (continued from previous page)
    Christmas the potatoes are brought into the garden and again three pits are made the potatoes put into them. These pits are from thirty six to forty five inches wide and from ten to twelve inches deep. Now the potatoes are first covered with canvas bags and then with scraws dug in the bog. Scraws dug in the ordinary fields could be used but those dug in the bog are the best.
    About April after the slits have been cut those stored in the pits begin to germinate that is baicleógs come on the potatoes and it is necessary to turn them a few times every fortnight to prevent this. But about May or so the potatoes are taken out of the pits and put in bags in the barn. Slits are cut in April. Care must be taken that the slit is cut straight that is from top to bottom and that each slit contains an eye. The piece of a potato that has no eye is called a laogán. A large sized potato makes three slits.
    Sometimes potatoes are small enough and need not be cut at all.
    When potatoes are stuck in ridges the ridges are first marked out with a plough. Then one man with a spade and another with slits come out in the field. The man with the spade makes the holes for the slits and the clay he digs up to make one hole he covers another hole with. The dykes are now scuffled and farmyard manure is put over the slits and a little clay is shovelled in over the manure. They are left like this for three weeks and then
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    History Edit
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. economic activities
        1. agriculture (~2,659)
          1. potatoes (~2,701)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Mary Mc Gagh
    Gender
    Female
    Address
    Beagh (Browne), Co. Galway
    Informant
    Patrick Mc Gagh
    Gender
    Male
    Age
    50
    Address
    Beagh (Browne), Co. Galway