School: Carrowreagh (roll number 15220)
- Location:
- Carrowreagh, Co. Sligo
- Teacher: Elizabeth Benson
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0185, Page 0021
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- XML School: Carrowreagh
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- XML “Food in Olden Times”
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- The principal food of the people in olden times in Carrowreagh was potatoes and oaten
bread. A pot of potatoes was boiled early in the morning by the farmer's wife before the family got up. The potatoes were warm and after they
were teamed the pot of potatoes was hung over
the fire and roasted. Then the potatoes were thrown out on a basket and all the family sat on stools and some of them sat on the floor and drank a noggin of new milk or if they had no new milk they drank a drink made from oat-meal called sounds. The oat-meal was steeped in a can of water and allowed
ferment or sower for about six or eight days. This drink was generally used by the people
with their potatoes porridge or oaten bread.They made oat-meal bread on an iron standard
standing in face of the fire. This was not an easy task to eat it because it was very hard and the people had to have very
good teeth to eat it. The potato was their principal meal up to the famine years of '45 and '47 and on that account people were healthier and stronger than people are at present. They people used to drink gruel(continues on next page)
