Local Cures
- Language
- English
- Collector
- Imelda O' Regan
- Informant
- Mr James Rea
Local cures
Long ago people had certain remedies for certain ailments. Use was made of certain animals to cure certain ailments. To cure toothache a frog was got and put into the mouth and left in it until the pain was gone. Thrush was cured by mixing honey and borax together and the mixture was spread on the tongue. A remedy for sore throats was to drink the juice of a boiled snail. Colds were cured long ago by rubbing the fat of a roasted goose on the chest.
St. Anne's holy well in Tomhaggard was visited to cure sore eyes.
Whooping cough was cured by crawling under a briar and by crawling nine times between a donkey's legs.
Ointment was made for cuts and sores from marsh mallow. Burns and scalds were cured by using ointment made from dandelion. A leaf called coltsfoot is also used for sore feet.
To cure measles dew snails were mixed with sugar and eaten. When old people had warts they got as many potatoes as warts and buried them. When the potatoes rotted the warts fell off.