School: Páirc an Iarla (roll number 9303)

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1. Local Cures

   

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   There were not much doctors long ago like now. When people had bad teeth they used to go to a forge to pull them and the smith would tie the bad tooth to the anvil and he would get an iron and redden it in the fire. When it is reddened he would take it out and he will pretend to hit you with it and you will make a jump back and the tooth is out then.
   Long ago when people had all sorts of disease they had a way of their own for curing them. There is a disease which small children get it is called thrush it is cured by putting on goose grease. If a wound was bleeding get a spidders web and put it on it and it will stop. When people had sore eyes or ears they used to visit holy wells to get them cured. When children get the chin-cough, the people would go to a man that would have a white horse and ask him what would cure the chin-cough, and he would them to give them punch or something else. After a few days it would be cured. To cure warts is to get a heap of stones and roll them in paper and leave them on the road the first person that would take it up would get the warts and they would be gone off you.
   If your nose was bleeding you would get a cool stone and put it at the back of your neck to stop it from bleeding. The seventh son would cure ring worm. The way to cure a sty is to get nine thorns of a gooseberry tree and point them to the sty. To cure a boil is go under a briar.

   

   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

   Kathleen Killeen

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   12

   Address

   Rathpeak, Co. Roscommon

   Informant

   Patrick J. Killeen

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Rathpeak, Co. Roscommon