School: Curraigh (B.) (roll number 12066)
- Location:
- Curry, Co. Sligo
- Teacher: Peadar Ó Braonáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0170, Page 0447
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- XML School: Curraigh (B.)
- XML Page 0447
- XML “Thatching”
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- (continued from previous page)Thatching (Continued)
next placed near the fire for a few hours. This makeds them resilient and less brittle. The scollops are tied in "barths" (beart).
When the thatcher arrives, he places his ladder and begins operations. He begins at about two feet above the level of the eave. He inserts the top of the straw (in which the grain grew) into the old thatch, and drapes the straw down so that the new eave comes down a few inches farther than the old cave. (Afterwards he cuts the new eave level with the old eave). he proceeds thatching upward until he reaches the top. The thatch is put on in "streaks" - a belt of thatch two feet wide reaching from the eave to the top of the house. Scollops are used to fasten the thatch on to the "scraws". They are put in, in such a way that they are covered by thatch above them, and are therefore invisible. A "coat" of thatch may last from 4 to 7 years. Rye straw makes the best thatch. If there are rats in the roof, the rye straw is stept in an undiluted solution of Sulphate of Copper.
- Collector
- Peter Brennan
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Teacher
