School: Wilkinstown (roll number 1917)
- Location:
- Wilkinstown, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Máire Ní Failcheallaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0711, Page 085
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- Long ago the people used to make candles for themselves. They used to go out and gather rushes and they would peel the green skin off them leaving only a little bit that would hold the middle part together. They used to have a can of lard boiling on the fire and they would dip the rushes into the lard so that they would light like a candle, and the candle when made was called a "farthing dip" or a "rush candle."
In later times different kinds of candles were made. A piece of cotton material was got and washed perfectly clean. Then a pot of "rosan" was boiled and the piece of cotton was rolled up into a roll about half the size of an ordinary candle and it was dipped down into the "rosan." It was let get dry and hard on the cotton and it was dipped again into it and the oftener it was dipped into the "rosan" the better the candle would be. There were called "rosan" candles and were thought much better than the "farthing dips."
After this the people made tallow candles. These were prepared in the same way as the rosan candles only it in tallow (a kind of grease) that they were dipped in instead of "rosan." These were much better than any of the other candles.
- Collector
- Patricia Reilly
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Demailestown, Co. Meath
- Informant
- Mrs Reilly
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Demailestown, Co. Meath
