School: Naomh Bríghid, Blackwater (roll number 7036)

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1. Old Crafts

   

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   In olden times before machinery was invented everything had to be made by the people. Shoe-making was a very common industry amongst the people. There was a shoe maker in every townland. Arthur Howlin was the shoe maker in my townland He had a little untidy room facing the road This room was always a very busy room. He had many sizes of wooden shapes First he got a piece of thick leather and placed it on one of the those "shapes" and cut the sole exactly like the shape Then he cut out the upper part of the boot and nailed it to the sole and left it to soften in some damp place before he stitched it. This man was a great story teller and his house was full every night listening to his stories. He sold the boots very cheap and they lasted a very long time.

   There was a weaving mill at the back of Ormond's of Inch. The people brought their wool to the mill and got it woven and dyed. Sometimes it was dyed by the juice taken from the elderberries and more times by the juice taken from blackberries. The juice was mixed with salt and the cloth was boiled with the mixture for about a day. When they had this done they called the cloth frize. The owner of this mill was Mr Henry Sinnot and the mill was known locally as the "woollen mill". Mr Thomas Connors worked in this mill

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. trades and crafts (~4,680)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Mrs Devereux

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   70

   Address

   Ballina, Co. Wexford