School: Bouleenshere (C.) (roll number 12865)
- Location:
- Booleenshare, Co. Kerry
- Teacher: Mary A. Walsh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0417, Page 457
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- Flax is a crop that is not extensively grown in the south of Ireland at the present time compared with fifty years ago. At that time everyone owning any extent of land set anything from a rood to an acre of ground under flax. It was sown in plots manured with artificial or farmyard manure. When the crop became ripe it was pulled with the hand and bound into sheaves. It was then thrown into a bog hole for about three weeks. Then it was taken out and placed over a fire in an iron frame until it was thoroughly dry. It was then pounded with beetles by hand to separate the fibre from it. The next process it went through was the cloven tongs which separated the tow from the finer flax both of which were spun into thread with a linen wheel. It was then taken to a weaver who with the use of a loom converted the thread made from the tow into what was called "bandlecloth" and the finer flax thread into beautiful linen both of which were used for sheets and different other things.
