School: Tullycasson

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1. Linen-Making

   

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   Linen making was one of the old industries. which was carried on in this parish long ago. First the flax was cut down and soaked in a well for three weeks. Then it was taken out and spread on the ground for a fortnight, to dry. It the end of the fortnight, it was gathered up and stooked. It was left in the stooks for nearly a month.
   After that it was put into a kiln and dried over a big fire. When it was dried thoroughly it was beetled with a beetle. This was done in order to take the seeds off it After it was beetled it was scutched with a scutch and a scutchen block. This was a block wood with a long piece of a stick stuck down in the middle of it. This stick was forked at the top and the flax was left into this fork and it was beaten with the scutch, which was long stick used for beating the fibre out of the flan.
   It was then tied up in sheaves and hackled with a hackle. The hackle was a big box with long needles standing up in it, the flax used to be pulled in and out through the needles

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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

   Collector

   Maura Dolan

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Tullytiernan, Co. Cavan

   Informant

   Michael Shannon

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ardvagh, Co. Cavan