School: Ardcath (roll number 1903)
- Location:
- Ardcath, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Seosamh S. Ó Duinnithín
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0685, Page 113
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- XML “The Houses Here Long Ago”
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- The houses here long ago were different as to what they are nowadays. They were nearly all thatched. What they used for thatching was - wheaten straw. No other straw was used. The walls were made from a yellow clay they got in the district. Mixed with that was hay and straw and sometimes hair. They made the walls with that and as stones were very scarce they only put a few stones here and there to make them strong. They put sticks standing upright through the walls to keep them in their places.
The floors were nearly all clayed with a flag in front of the fire for a hearthstone. Flags were more plentiful at that time than stones. Men had to work for a week or fortnight and their payment would be a large flag.
The windows were protected by putting iron bars outside the window and sometimes on the inside. The windows altogether were very small.
Inside the doors were iron bars that when the door was closed the iron bards closed over the door and it could not open.
When men earned the flag they would bring it home for a hearthstone or a bench for holding brackets or crocks. When mud walls were being built they only built a foot in a week. They had to let it dry and set before they built any more. In other parts of the country they cut boughs from on ash tree. They didn't dress them but just brought them home and put them up. They made a hole in the wood into which they put wooden pegs to keep them together.
