School: Ínse, Dún Mánmhaí (roll number 16540)
- Location:
- Inch West, Co. Cork
- Teacher: Bríd, Bean Uí Chonaill
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0304, Page 025
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- XML School: Ínse, Dún Mánmhaí
- XML Page 025
- XML “Our Furze Spade”
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- There are very few furze spades left in the country, and I suppose there are none in use. Nowadays people chop the furze for the horses with choppers and machines but long ago in my grandfather's time, all furze was chopped with a furze spade.
We had an old one at home. It is in Inch school now. It is a funny kind of spade, very heavy with a broad sharp top. It has no bochán on it. The handle is of ash, about four feet long. To make it heavier the box of a car wheel is slipped down over the handle, till it reaches the spade The furze spade was used like this. The furze was put into a kind of wide trough and a board was stretched across it This board was brought to protect the persons feet, which were usualy bare, from the thorns. Then the man(continues on next page)
- Collector
- William O' Brien
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 13
- Address
- Kilbarry, Co. Cork
