School: Abbeytown Convent N.S. (roll number 15043)
- Location:
- Boyle, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Sr. M. Columbanus
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0236, Page 197
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Old Houses
“Long ago in this parish, the houses were very small and often there was not room for a whole family to fit it.”
Long ago in this parish, the houses were very small and often there was not room for a whole family to fit in.
The roofs were made of the thickest rushes, which were got in the district and this material was very strong and substantial for roofing. A number of houses in this parish years ago had no chimneys. The chimney was a hole in the wall with a tin-can protruding and this tin had no bottom, so as to allow the smoke to rush through.
The fire was always in the centre of the floor and a kind of grating to protect anybody from stumbling against it. The walls floor and chimney were made of daub and this was supposed to be very dry and warm especially in the Winter time. The daub was wet with water in order to soften it and when the floor was made, the daub was put in the centre of the kitchen, and each(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Mary Joe Mac Dermot
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Boyle, Co. Roscommon
- Informant
- Mr T. Tiernan
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Boyle, Co. Roscommon