School: Naomh Bríghid, Blackwater (roll number 7036)

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1. Old Crafts (continued)

   

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   placed underneath. It stood on four legs one jutting out at each end of the bottom angle and one at each side of the centre but each of these went down straight from the outer edges of the middle of the vessel. There was a handle attatched to the centre sufficiently long to protect the user from burning when using it to melt the tallow. It was just like the handle used on a frying pan nowadays.
   Rush Lights To make Rush Lights good strong rushes were collected and dried in the sun. The weak top was lobbed off and about three-quarters of the skin of the rush removed by peeling it in the same manner as we remove the skin from rhubarb. The long strip of skin with the portion of the centre attatched to it was then dipped in-to the melted tallow and hung up to dry in a cool dry place. The rush hardened in the drying and was stiff enough to stand up-right in a candle-stick.
   "Resin Snobs" The "Resin Snobs" were made of pieces or strips of rags or calico twisted to make them firm. About one fourth Resin was melted with tallow and the twisted strips soaked in the mixture. They were removed while hot and hung up to dry in a cool dry place and when hard and firm were ready for use. The candle-stick

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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