Transcript

Bhuel, tá mise ag goil ag insin daoibhse an chaoi a bhfuil... a n-oibríonn sinn an talamh mónadh ó earrach go fómhar. Caithfidh na fir a ghoil amach lena gcuid spád agus an talamh a rómhar amach le haghaidh dóite. Ansin nuair a bheas sé tirim le haghaidh an dóite gabhfaidh siad agus tarraingeoidh[1] siad a gcuid cnap mónadh, a léar[2] is mar a fhónann sé, ar an talamh. Leagfaidh siad anonn agus anall ar an talamh é agus nuair a ghabhfas s-... gabhfaidh siad isteach chun an tí ansin agus bhéarfaidh siad amach an tsluasaid (dheirge) agus cuirfidh siad (sna) cnaip mhónadh ansin é nó go mbí siad maoldearg le breacadh ar an talamh léar is mar a fhónann siad. Ansin nuair a bheas siad breacthaí ar an talamh tiocfaidh triúr nó ceathar, léar is mar a bheas an cúnamh, agus cuirfidh siad ar an talamh rómharthaí (ansin é ar an) dearg go cineálta lena lámha. Nuair a bheas sin déantaí acu tiocfaidh fear thart lena shluasaid agus cuirfidh sé an (mara lán) lán orthu go cineálta lena shluasaid riocht nach ngabhfaidh siad as nó go ndéanfaidh siad cnap luatha. Ansin nuair a bheas an ciúnas ann tiocfaidh siad, triúr ná ceathar, agus scapfaidh siad amach an luaith sin go deas cineálta cothrom thart ar a gcuid talaimh. Agus nuair a bheas sé sin déantaí acu, (in aon) áit a bhfuil siad, na poill, dóití síos sa talamh ag an dearg, caithfidh siad a ghoil agus a bhaint agus a líonadh isteach i gcothrom leis an bhfarasbarr dhon talamh. Ansin nuair a bheas sin déantaí acu tiocfaidh fear, más fataí atá siad ag goil a chur ann, tiocfaidh fear lena dhorú agus lena shluasaid agus rialfaidh sé é. Agus nuair a bheas sin déantaí aige bhéarfaidh sé ar a spád agus gabhfaidh sé (ag fiachadh) áit[3] na scoilteán agus beidh duine eile ag tíocht ina dhéidh ag breacadh isteach na scoileán... na scoilteáin ins an... na fágálacha atá sé a dhéanamh agus eisean ag goil taobh chúl a chinn dá (bhfalachán) le gach preab.

Ansin inseoidh mé dhaoibh ó thús go deireadh, earrach go fómhar, an chaoi a ndéantar an obair leis an talamh. Ansin caithfidhear[4] breith ar an gcorrán ins an bhfómhar. Nuair a bheas an coirce aipí le baint gabhfaidh muid amach chun an mhachaire, léar is mar bheas an cúnamh, ag gearradh an choirce lenár gcuid corrán agus ag déanamh (treascracha) agus ag leagan ár gcuid punannacha coirce isteach ins na (treascracha) agus á gceangal suas. Nuair a oibreos muid an lá sin go dtí tráthnóna gabhfaidh gach duine ag stucadh an choirce ansin agus tá sórt claigneach orthu, (tuairim le dhá) phunainn, agus cinn eile ag tíocht 'na dhéidh á gceangal. Ansin, nuair a bheas sé tirim le cur sa gcró, isteach san agard, le cruach a dhéanamh dhó gabhfaidh muid... béarfaidh muid ar ár gcuid rópaí nuair a gheofas muid stálaithe tirim ar an machaire é. Béarfaidh muid ar ár gcuid rópaí ar maidin agus gabhfaidh muid amach agus beidh muid ag tarraingt isteach nó go measa muid féin go mbeidh ábhar na cruaiche tarraingtí againn. Gabhfaidh mise ansin agus déanfaidh mé an chruach amach go gcríochnaí muid an chruach tráthnóna. Agus nuair a bheas an críoch... chruach críochnaithe ansin béarfaidh mé ar mo dhos féir agus cuirfidh mé thuas ar a barr é dho dhídean roimh an gcuaifeach. Gabhfaidh muid ansin agus cumhdóidh muid suas í le tuí agus béarfaidh beirt ar a gcuid súgán agus gabhfaidh siad thart ar an gcruaich nó go gcuirfidh siad súgáin thimpill uirthi. Ansin...

Translation

Well, I am going to tell you how we work the bog land from spring to autumn. The men have to go out with their spades and dig the land in preparation for burning. Then when it is dry enough for burning they will go and draw their loads of turf, as needed, on the ground. They will place it over and back on the ground and... they will go to the house then and bring out the ember(?) shovel and put it into the loads of turf until they are red-tipped for placing(?) on the ground as needed. Then when they are placed(?) on the land, three or four people will come, depending on the help available, and they will put it(?) on the dug ground, on the undersoil(?), gently with their hands. When they have done that a man will come around with his shovel and he will put the (...) on them gently with his shovel so that they don't go out until they become a heap of ashes. Then when it is calm three or four people will come and gently spread that ash evenly around their land. And when they have done that, wherever(?) the holes are burned down to the ground by the embers(?), they must go and extract it and fill it in evenly with the surplus soil. And then when they have done that a man will come, if they are going to sow potatoes there, a man will come with his line and his shovel and he will mark it. And when he has done that he will take his spade and he will (...) for the potato-sets and there will be another person coming after him placing the potato-sets into the hollows(?) he is making while going backwards covering them with spadefuls.

Now I will tell you from beginning to end, spring to autumn, how the work is done with the land. The sickle must be used in the autumn. When the oats are ripe for harvesting we will go out to the big field, when help is available, to cut the oats with our sickles and make (...) and put our sheaves of oats into the (...) and bind them up. When we work that day until the evening everyone goes stooking the oats and there is a kind of a (...) on them, about two sheaves, and others come after them tying them. Then, when it is dry enough to put into the shed, into the haggard, to make a stack out of it we go... we will take our rope when we have it dried and hardened on the land. We will take our ropes in the morning and we will go out and we will be drawing it in until we think that we have enough drawn for the stack. I will go then and work on (?) the stack until we have finished it in the evening. And then when the stack is finished I will take my tuft of grass and put it on top of it as protection against the wind. Then we will go and cover it with hay and two people will take their straw-ropes and go around the stack until they have put the straw-ropes around it. Then...

Footnotes

Commentary

Research into matters of livelihood and household support has played an important part in the study of folklore in Ireland, particularly from an ethnographical perspective. As such, accounts like the example given here are considered important in understanding how people lived and worked. Seán Ó Súilleabháin's Handbook of Irish folklore (Detroit, 1942) laid out the subjects that collectors should investigate during fieldwork and survey, and amongst them was work in the fields. Questions about working the soil, including methods of tilling, ploughing and burning are found on p. 42, while questions on p. 54 concern the methods of planting potatoes. Reaping is discussed on p. 59. Other ethnographers have investigated these subjects, including E. Estyn Evans, whose Irish folk ways (London, 1957) discusses matters of material culture, and traditional farming methods. Chapters 10-12 in particular examine ploughs and spades, lazy beds and harvesting.