School: An Chúil Árd (roll number 12587)

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1. Food in Olden Times

   

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   People used to eat three meals a day long ago:- breakfast, dinner and supper. People used to work for hours before breakfast. The well-to-do people used to have potatoes and those who hadn't them used to have mixed bread and porridge. They used to drink sour milk with the potatoes. The table was put in the middle of the floor. They used to eat mixed bread and oaten bread. They used to eat meat on Sundays only. Bacon was the meat most commonly eaten. They used to eat porridge also. This was meal and milk boiled together. They used to eat their supper at about 7.30 and wouldn't eat again until nine the following morning. They used to eat eggs on Easter Sunday and they wouldn't eat them again until the next Easter Sunday. Another custom was to have veal always on Easter Sunday. Tea only became common about thirty or forty years ago. When it first became common coffee was mixed with it. There is a story that there was a station in a house once and the woman of the house bought tea for the priest. She did not know how to make it and she boiled it and threw out the tea and gave the tea-leaves to the priest. Wooden mugs that were used before cups became common.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. products
      1. food products (~3,601)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   James Relihan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Coolkeragh, Co. Kerry

   Informant

   Mrs C. Relihan

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   55

   Address

   Coolkeragh, Co. Kerry