School: Árd-chill
- Location:
- Ardkill More, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: Bean Uí Chonalláin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0978, Page 257
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- XML School: Árd-chill
- XML Page 257
- XML “Cleaning of Oats”
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- When the days' work of threshing was finished the oats, chaff and sperry were mixed. Therefore the mixture must be "cleaned" before being brought to the corn-mill. If the haggard was not "breezy" enough the bags of mixture were brought out to some hill-top or airy field on the farm on a fine day. Sometimes the farmer had days or weeks of waiting for a fine day to "clean his oats."
A large sheet or bed-quilt was spread on the ground & was called a 'winnin' sheet'. Some farmers got a loan of a canvas cover which the local shop man, John Galligan, used when drawing goods in his horse-cart. The 'winnin' sheet however procured usually covered 5' x 5' of ground.
Each farmer owned a riddle -a kind of shallow round box with a bottom somewhat like screen wire. The farmer stood on the 'winnin's sheet', filled the riddle of mixture and shook it with his hands from side to side. Gradually the mixture fell through(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Ben Galligan
- Gender
- Male
- Informant
- John Galligan
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Ardkill More, Co. Cavan
