School: An Caipín, Inis Céin

Location:
Cappeen, Co. Cork
Teacher:
Liam Ó Cruadhlaoich
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0306, Page 169

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0306, Page 169

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  1. XML School: An Caipín, Inis Céin
  2. XML Page 169
  3. XML “Turf-Cutting”

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  1. About thirty years ago, I had a meitheall of thirty-two men cutting turf in the Moin Rua bog. The turf on the top we called Móin Rámhaire, and from the tenth sod down was called móin Sluasaid.
    All the bog-stuff or "corca" was thrown up on the brink, and a man riding a horse kept walking through it to mix it while other men kept throwing buckets of water from the ath-port or hole where turf had been taken out the year before. Sometimes a man with a grafán used to break the lumps with the heel of the grafán and the work was called fallaireacht. Sometimes we dug a drain through the brink to bring the water near where it was wanted to wet the bog-stuff.
    Then the bog stuff was shaped into sods with the hands, and this was called "móin ladhaire". The small heaps of dry turf were called púcáns and oaten meal, sour milk, and a little
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Language
    English
    Informant
    Michael Cross
    Gender
    Male
    Age
    86
    Occupation
    Smith
    Address
    Cappeen West, Co. Cork