School: Baile Idir Dhá Abhainn (roll number 13196)
- Location:
- Riverstown, Co. Sligo
- Teacher: Ml. Mac Lochlainn
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0180, Page 111
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- XML “The Potato Crop”
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- Potatoes are the most common food now used in Ireland, the climate being suitable for their growth. It is usually late in February or early March that the farmers in this district begin preparing the soil. My father always gets a plough and he usually ploughs an acre of ground. Long ago this work was done with a loy. A loy is a large spade which is much heavier than the ordinary spade and there fore the work was very strenuous and slow, but the plough can complete an acre in one day.
When the ploughing is completed my mother starts "splitting" some of last year's potatoes. Each potato is cut so that there is an "eye" in each portion. An "eye" is a small hole in the potato where the bud comes out. When the ploughing is finished the ridges must be "hearted" before the splits are put in, that is clay must be put into the centre of the ridge.
Then each man has a little bag hung from his shoulders into which he puts(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Agnes Higgins
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Ross, Co. Sligo
