School: Tamhnach tSeiscinn (roll number 12778)
- Location:
- Tawnytaskin, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Aibhistín Ó Tárpaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0234, Page 136
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- Butter-making was a most important industry in and around Boyle before the introduction of the Creamery. Boyle town was one of the principal butter market towns in Connaught.
After every churning the people in this locality used to place most of their butter in a firkin. When a few of these firkins were filled with butter the owner would cart them into the butter market which was held on the Bridge and in the Shambles on the Wednesday of every week. These firkins weighed about 1 cwt when full of butter. The butter was mostly bought by buyers from Northern Ireland, from England, or from Scotland. These buyers asked the assistance of a local "butter merchant" or "taster". This butter merchant had a sharp scoop-like instrument called a "pierce which he used to insert to the bottom of the firkin of butter. The pierce was inserted to the bottom of the firkin because very often the country people put bad butter at the bottom of the firkin and covered it with good butter. When this(continues on next page)
- Collector
- William C. Byrne
- Address
- Boyle, Co. Roscommon
