School: Liathdruim (roll number 1125)

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1. Care of the Feet (continued)

   

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   478
   they wear pampooties. Pampooties are sandals made from the untanned hide of a cow or sheep, and of course are much softer that leather.

   People who go barefoot in youth always have a better carriage and a sprightler step than those who have always their feet covered. There are three shoe-makers in Leitrim village, but there is not a single one in the surrounding district. This is easy to explain, as it is now possible to by factory-made boots and shoes very cheaply. This was not so formerly; almost all boots and shoes were hand-made by shoemakers, and every district had one or more shoemakers.

   Twenty or thirty years ago many of our small farmers and labourers wore clogs. These were boots with a wooden sole. They were difficult to walk in, but kept the feet very dry. They have gone quite out of fashion. A few generations ago most of the leather was home-made, that is it was made in the local tanners or tan-yard. In the town of Carrick-on-Shannon there is a small back street, known as the "Tan-Yard." The tan-yard consisted of a deep pit of water in which the skins of cows,

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. clothing and accessories (~2,403)
         1. shoes (~1,841)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Eileen Easdley

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Tullylannan, Co. Leitrim