School: Béal Átha Conaill (2)

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1. Churning

   

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   There are various shapes and sizes of churns in use. There are "dash" churns, horse machine churns, and "end over end" churns which are much more modern. Strangers who come in when churning is in process, take a turn at the churning as otherwise it is feared they might bring away the butter with them. The bottom part of the dash churn is called the "lagan". When churning is finished it is "rocked" to gather the butter into little heaps.
   Long ago, it was thought that butter was taken off milk by means of witchcraft.
   When Charley McFarland, Kesh, Co Fermanagh would churn he would have no butter and when he would churn for a while, the smell of the butter would put him out of the house. He went to a man who had a cure for it. He was told to go to a grave-yard at midnight and take mould from the freshest grave in it and put it in front of the cows in the byre. He did that, and the next time he churned he had as much butter as would usually be on four or five churns. The mould is in front of the cows in the byre still.
   One morning a man from Kinawley

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. butter and churns (~3,280)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Mrs Mc Mullen

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Mucklagh, Co. Cavan