School: Clashaganny (roll number 8051)

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1. Old Houses

   

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   The houses long ago in which people dwelt were very unlike ours. They were made up of rough field stones, instead of dressed material, the old people used yellow clay which they called Daube as a packing.
   The windows were very small this was a precaution against burglars. Low doors were to be seen in every house fastened by a hasp on the outside. The most of the houses had no chimney only a hole in the top to let out the smoke, after a time they started putting in wooden chimneys some of them remained until recent years.
   Every house had a loft of some description some of the made out of sally rods woven into basket-work, more made of rough joices with a place left for the hens to roost. Some people has their beds in the kitchen covered with curtains these were called tent beds and some of them still remain in poorer parts of the country, there were no iron beds then. There were'nt any boarded or cement floors, the clay floor was to be seen in every house, clay mixed with lime was used for this. Rushes dipped in grease were the only lights available.
   In some cases the cows and pigs were housed with the people the odour of the cows was considered beneficial in certain diseases in this way the people lived and were healthy with oatenbread to eat which

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. buildings
            1. residential buildings (~2,723)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Nancy Boyle

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballydaly, Co. Roscommon

   Informant

   John Tiernan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballydaly, Co. Roscommon