School: Brúgh Ríogh (C.) (roll number 10229)

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1. Old Houses

   

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   Old Houses

   With regards to the houses which existed in the district in olden times, they were of a very crude type. Mostly all the houses were built by handy men. The walls were built of yellow mud and were usually about two feet thick and about eight feet high.

   In the preparation of the material the man used to make a big hole and put the mud into it. Sometimes the young people were called in and used to take of their boots and keep trampling on the mud until it became of a tough clammy substance. Then it was laid on in layers with straw and rushes in between to make it firm and to give it a hold.

   The old houses were generally thatched with rushes or straw. Some people used wheaten straw or reed, others had rushes which was called spire. It is a long rush found growing along river banks. This was cut and saved like wheaten straw. Rushes were also procured from fields.

   The furniture of the old houses was very simple. The bed was always in the kitchen near the fire and was generally a camp(?) bed. This was a timber structure with a canopy

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   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

   Nellie Jones

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Bruree, Co. Limerick

   Informant

   Mr M. Jones

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   47

   Address

   Bruree, Co. Limerick