School: An Dúinín (roll number 4444)
- Location:
- Dooneen, Co. Cork
- Teacher: R. Ó Motharua
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0298, Page 154
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- XML School: An Dúinín
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- XML “Cows”
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On this page
- When driving cows in this locality people say How! How!
The stalls are usually adjacent to dwelling houses - facing back door - These are oblong in shape and all possess slated roofs
In many cases, the cows face the two gables of the stall and where they stand the floor is often raised above the centre of the floor. The cows are secured by wooden battens fastened by iron rings
When cows are "breachy" they are inclined to break into meadows & on the public road.
To prevent this, a halter is tied from the fore leg to a horn. A piece of bag is often tied from the two horns so as to hang over the eyes.
A piece of an old milking bucket is sometimes used for the same purpose. (called a Caipín súileach)
People have many pishogues about milking cows. If a caller should arrive at the stall door when milking is going on, he or she should say "God bless your work" if bad luck was not intended to fall on the cows or the milker
When a cow calves, the hair on the udder is often singed with a blessed candle
The first drop of milk should always be directed to the ground
On May Eve, a bowl of milk should be put outside(continues on next page)
