School: Wilkinstown (roll number 1917)

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1. The Old Houses

   

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   Long ago the houses were not as nice as they are nowadays. Most of them had thatched roods and some of them had galvanized roofs on them.
   Most of them had mud-walls and mud-floors. There was usually a half-door on the house but they are very scarce now.
   Sometimes the chimney was made of wood and sometimes it was made of mortar and stones. The fireplace was generally at the gable-wall. Turf and wood were the principal things used for fire. Very big sods of turf were used and they were called "scraws." Sometimes when the weather was very cold, there was a "griddle" placed in the bedroom and coals of hot fire called "greesha" were placed on it. A "griddle" was a round flat iron, and there was an iron handle on the edge of it.
   When the "greesha" was getting cold more of it was put on the "griddle" and this made the room warm and comfortable.
   There was a big flat stone called a "flag-stone" at the gable-wall and the fire was put on this, and sometimes there was an iron put standing at the wall at the back of the fire so that the heat would be thrown out all over the house.
   There was generally a "bolt" on the door. It was

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Nancy Sheridan

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Wilkinstown, Co. Meath

   Informant

   John Sheridan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Wilkinstown, Co. Meath