School: Bilboa (C.) (roll number 15693)
- Location:
- Bilboa, Co. Limerick
- Teacher: Síle, Bean Uí Raghallaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0519, Page 027
Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.
See copyright details.
DownloadOpen data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
- XML School: Bilboa (C.)
- XML Page 027
- XML “Old Crafts - Basket-Making”
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- The craft of basketmaking is in the Laffan family of Bilboa, Cappamore, Co. Limerick for generations. The father taught the sons and now John Laffan of Bilboa makes baskets for different uses.
Baskets are mde from sallows. These grow best in wet places. Before they are used they have to be dried. When they are well dry six strong sallows are got for stretchers for calf-baskets. Then the lighter ones are woven around them and made into the shape of a basket. When the basket is complete it is narrow at the bottom and wide at the top. These baskets are put on young calves to prevent them from eating the straw under them.
Baskets are also made by hand for bringing in turf from the stack. Baskets in which apples are sold are called "hampers."
John Laffan also makes cradles with these sallows. He sticks a lot of sallows into the ground and weaves others around them. He weaves the sides and top in one piece and makes the bottom separate.
- Collector
- Mary Smee
- Gender
- Female
- Informant
- John Laffan
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 55
- Occupations
- Basket-maker
- Mason
- Address
- Bilboa, Co. Limerick
