School: Knockcommon (roll number 16549)
- Location:
- Knockcommon, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Sighle Nic Aibhsc
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0684, Page 048
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- XML Page 048
- XML “Local Cures”
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- 'Local Cures' (continued)Long ago there were no doctors and the people had to seek remedies for their ailments in herbs and other things.
There are many old cures for the toothache. To take a spoonful of whiskey in your mouth and hold it round the tooth will relieve the pain in a short time.
Thrush is a scab that comes on the head, a local family called Kavagh have the cure of this, which consists of suet and briar leaves and some other herbs. When people get stung with a nettle they get a doccan leaf which is a broad green one and rub it to the sting saying a rhyme - 'Doccan, Doccan run about, take the sting of a nettle out'. Or if people get a sting of a bee or wasp, they squeeze clothes blue on it, this removes the pain after a while.
People cure a pain in the ear by dipping a piece of cotton wool in holy water and keeping it in the ear, or by dipping a piece of black sheep's wool in olive oil and keeping(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Josephine Dwyer
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Rathdrinagh, Co. Meath
