School: Abbeytown Convent N.S. (roll number 15043)

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   Long ago people never went to doctors about their diseases because they had plenty of cures themselves, which sometimes proved successful. The diseases they had were quite different from those of the present day, and there was no such thing as going to hospitals or getting operations preformed.

   In my locality there are many cures for coughs, but the principal one is garlic which is to be found in every house. The people boil the garlic bulbs, and eat them in the morning fasting. At one time garlic was thought to be poisonous, and when St. Patrick came to Ireland the pagan people gave it to him in order to kill him. He knew what it was and blessing it, he drank it and since then it is a most effective cure for coughs. Before the children take the whooping . cough, if they get the ferret's ''leavings'' they will never take it severely.

   A child born after his father's death has the cure of the foul-mouth, and the seventh son in a family has the cure of the ringworm.

   A very frequent disease with the old people was a ''sty on the eye''. The cure they had for this, was to point nine gooseberry thorns three times at the eye. This was done on a Monday and Thursday. When a person gets a thorn and cannot get it out, a foxe's tongue first softened in lukewarm water, and then applied to the effective part is a great cure.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. medical practice
         1. folk medicine (~11,815)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Esther Coleman

   Gender

   Female

   Informant

   Mr Patrick Mc Donagh

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon