School: Port Omna (B) (roll number 2174)

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1. Hedge-Schools (continued)

   

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   with rushes and then dashed them with clay for shelter. They made their seats with blocks of wood and then they put them round about the school. In Summer they had their lesson out in the open under a big tree. And they also called the ground they wrote on the white board. In those schools the teachers taught English, Arithmetic, a little of Irish and Writing.
   There was also anther school on a place called Gortray which was owned by Bunningham and he also taught in it.
   The people called him "Cipín" Cunningham, because he would send a bad pupil home with a sally rod to be beaten with it by his parents.
   The custom then was for all the teacher to come after a funeral and each teacher to have his own army. Then they would go out and fight with sticks and stones, every army fighting for themselves.
   Once they forgot the fight and it was about three o clock after the funeral, and only one thought about it. Then he said "Three o clock and no blood drew yet. Then he hit one fellow with a stone and he dropped dead. So then the fight began. This was called the faction fight. After this the Policemen put a stop to it and it was the last fight heard of

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. buildings
            1. schools (~4,094)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Gerard Murray

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Portumna, Co. Galway

   Informant

   Mr J Murray

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   55

   Address

   Portumna, Co. Galway