School: Castletown
- Location:
- Castletown, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Owen Maguire
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0711, Page 398
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- The people long ago lived on much different food to what we live on now. The chief foods they used were, Oaten meal bread, Wheaten bread, porridge, butter milk, flummery and cabbage and bacon. Meat was a thing which only the well to do could afford, and sweets and dainties, which are so much used nowadays were things almost unheard of. Breakfast was a very early meal then. It usually consisted of oaten bread, butter, eggs, milk. Tea had not been heard of. For dinner they usually took cabbage and bacon and plenty of flowery potatoes. They very seldom took a sweet they kept it for a holiday or a feast day. They took another meal at three o'clock. They took milk for this meal. For supper they had buttermilk and porridge. This was a very healthy meal. It was easy to know this to see the long lives people lived then.
- The people used to eat three meals long ago. At seven in the morning twelve o'clock in the day and eight(continues on next page)
- Informant
- Mrs Thomas Duffy
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- c. 40
- Address
- Leggagh, Co. Meath
