School: Páirc Uí Líathain, Killenaule
- Location:
- Lanespark, Co. Tipperary
- Teacher: Pilib Mac an Fhailghe
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0564, Page 256
Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.
See copyright details.
DownloadOpen data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- Turf Cutting.
After the potatoes are planted, if the season is dry, turf-cutting begins. This occurs generally about the last week in March. The bank is bought from the bog owner, if turbary is not free.
The first work consists of preparing or cleaning the bank, or that portion upon which the turf is placed to dry. It is locally called "the spread". All heather and high grass are first cleared off. This is usually done by setting fire to it, due precaution being taken not to allow the fire to extend. The bog-hole is then "stripped", that is the top sods are dug up until the turf is exposed. Hollows in the spread are filled with the strippings of the bog-hole, bog sods etc. The spread is made as level as possible to facilitate the work of wheeling out the laden barrows, which are of considerable weight.
At least three hands are engaged on each bank viz. the slanesman, the catcher and the wheeler. The slanesman cuts the sod and throws it up off(continues on next page)
