School: Cnuicín na hAbhann

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   “When I was a little boy there were many quare customs in the place which are all forgotten now.”

   

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   When I was a little boy there were many quare customs in the place which are all forgotten now. The old people were great believers in the good people, they used think the good people used be in the house every night after they had gone to bed, and they used have everything around the hearth prepared for them.

   They never went to bed without putting the tongs standing against the job to be ready for use and by any means. the children would not be allowed wash their feet near the fireplace, and when fixing the fire to keep seed for the morning they used gather all the red coals make a hole in the middle of the ashes, put the coals into the hole, cover them over with the "greeshagh", then put a few sods of turf on top to be ready for use when the good people would arrive.

   I remember well, when I was young, if they were churning the cream in cold weather they would put the churn near the fire, and we were all warned not to go between the churn and the fire, and if we chanced to do so, we would be caught by the shoulder and brought back the same way, and if they were airing clothes before the fire by any

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Dora Reidy

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Barna, Co. Kerry

   Informant

   Dan Clifford

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   82

   Address

   Barna, Co. Kerry