School: Cnoc Breac (roll number 13041)
- Location:
- Knockbrack, Co. Kerry
- Teacher: Séamus Ó Conchubhair
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0450, Page 205
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- XML School: Cnoc Breac
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- XML “Candle-Making”
- XML “Candle-Making”
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- Long ago the people used to make their own candles from the fat of the cows. They used to render the tallow and they used have a long mould the shape of the candles. They used put a cotton wick in the middle of the mould and tie it at the top. Then they poured in the tallow and left it in the mould during the night until it would get hard. When it would be hard then they used to pull it out at the bottom and they would have their candle made. They had pound and half pound moulds so that they could make pound and half pound candles. Those candles used always run and drip for they were very dirty and they used burn with a splittering noise so that they were not like the candles now at - all.
- Collector
- Denis O' Connor
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Knockbrack, Co. Kerry
- Besides the method of making candles by means of the mould another method was employed called dipping. These candles were made from goats tallow. First it rendered and put into a narrow tub when it was quite hot. Then the wicks were tied along a stick these were made from thread plaited. These were dipped in and held up again till the tallow on them was cold then they were dipped in again and taken out again and so on and(continues on next page)
