School: Cill Chais, Cluain Meala (roll number 596)

On this page

1. Old Houses

   

   Share Share Post

   The houses were thatched mud walled cabins. Some few were slated, and the slates were got in the quarries in Ahenny. The thatch was made from wheaten straw and reeds.
   There was always a settle bed in the kitchen, but in the day it was rolled up and used as a seat. The fire places were only little holes, and there was often no chimney but a hole in the roof to let out the smoke and sometimes an old churn would be put down the hole to let the smoke through. All these thatched cabins had usually only one room and the poorer cabins were thatched with heather from the mountain. They had no outside houses - the hens roosted inside the door of the cabin on a piece of stick specially kept for that purpose. If a horse was kept there was also a special place for the animal inside. There were holes made in the mud walls for windows and every night a sop of hay or a bag would be stuffed into the hole. The floors were usually made of yellow clay but in the farm houses they were usually paved and flagged. People near the mountain

   (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

   C. Ní Mhainnín

   Gender

   Female

   Informant

   Oliver Morrissey

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   64

   Occupations

   Farmer

   Road worker

   Address

   Toor, Co. Tipperary