School: Carnadough (C.), Newtowncashel

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1. Travelling Folk

   

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   The travelling folk still call to my home but not so numerous as long ago. Some parts of the year you would not see a tinker for four or five months. This present generation have been coming for about twenty years and it is said that the O'Learys are coming for about thirty five years. They are poor with the exception of a couple of families.

   Nearly all these travelling folk have some small articles have some small articles such as beads, crucifixes, laces, brooches, and pins, strainers, and candlesticks and small needs like this. People generally buy from them if the things they have are of any use to them. They get their supplies in the towns they are passing trough.

   They are welcome almost every place except with the poorer class. Sometimes they remain three or four days in the one place according to how they are getting on. Some tinkers have carriages or vans drawn by two horses. They went out to the war in 1914 and some of them got pensions and some of them got those caravans. In these vans they sleep and cook also. Others have just an old cart drawn by a horse. They have to make up some sort of beds for the night made of straw and canvas and they cook on the roadside.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. people by social grouping
         1. travellers (~3,023)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Bridie Shea

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cloonmee, Co. Longford