School: Ráth Dubh, An Bhlárna (roll number 8393)

On this page

1. Old Houses

   

   Share Share Post

   The houses that were there long ago were made of mortar and stone. They were nearly always white washed.
   Very few of these houses were slated. The most of them were thatch. Thatch was got from wheaten straw and placed on the roof by a thatcher. In some houses a bed was placed in the kitchen for strangers to sleep the night in it. It is like a chair but it is longer and wider. It was called a settle.
   In each house the fireplace was usually against the gable wall. Turf and furze were used in the fire. Some houses had no chimney but a hole in the roof instead.
   Chimneys were made from bricks and mortar. Some houses had no glass on the windows but a piece of timber they used instead. Floors were made of clay. Nearly all the houses hath halfdoors and there are a few of them in the district still.
   The people used to get light from flint and steel. The used light bog dial with flint and steel and then put it in a hole in the wall. Sometimes the bog dial used catch fire with something else and the house used be in danger of being burned. Then the people

   (continues on next page)

   

   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

   Maureen O' Brien

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Knockantota South, Co. Cork

   Informant

   Mrs Kearney

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Knockantota South, Co. Cork