School: Ráth gCaola (2) (roll number 10929)
- Location:
- Rathkeale, Co. Limerick
- Teacher: Sinéad Ní Chnuic
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0501, Page 139
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- XML School: Ráth gCaola (2)
- XML Page 139
- XML “Churning”
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- We have no churn at home now but a neighbour of ours has one. It is about two feet high, one foot wide at the top and one and a half feet at the bottom. The sides are round and are kept together with tight hoops. The stick that works the cream is called the churn dash(or staff). A piece of wood shaped like a cup known as the cup. Through this the dash is put and as it is loose and lies on the top of the churn no cream can come up. There are no marks of any kind on it.
Churning is done about every third day in summer and twice a week in winter.
The women of the house do the churning but if strangers come in they have to help also. There is an old belief connected with churning. It is said that strangers who come in and do not take a turn at the work they are supposed to take the butter away. The churning takes about an hour if the churn is full. It is done by hand and sometimes the churn dash is given a rolling motion to knock any loose butter off the knob at the end. People know when the butter is making as the cream thickens and the churn-dash is inclined to stick. The cream makes a heavy sound(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Walter Modler
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Courtmatrix, Co. Limerick
