Candle-Making

transcribed at

Candle-Making  [duchas:4607065]

`171 
Candle Making
The following is the story of candle-making as told to me by an old man.
"Musha a gradh lookit (look at) the lamp on that table, there was no such things in my young days. If you like I'll tell you about the sorta candles we used to have. This is how the "rush candles" were made. The man of the house used to cut a few bundles o'rushes bring them into the kitchen and peel them, then they were put into a "schib" (basket) and left near the fire to dhry. Then tallow was put into a "grisad" (a boat shaped vessel with a handle at the side and little legs and milted, then the rushes were dipped in the milted tallow. Then they were left on a  board to stiffen. 

There was another sort of candle as well, called the "razhen (resin) candles". The "razhin" was put into the "grisad" and milted. Then pieces of rag nine or ten inches long was twisted and dipped in tyhe milted "razhin". These were then left to stiffen. There used to be a "coinnleor" (candle stick) to hold these candles. This "coinnleor" was a piece of twisted iron placed on a wooden stand. It was about nine inches high, on the top was something like a "pinchers" (pincers) or a wooden clothe peg, the candle was put into the little pinchers and *held tight until burned. The "razhin" candles showed a 

*As the candle down, the catch was loosened and the rush pushed up.

Candle-Making  [duchas:4607066]

172
very bad light and smoked a lot when burnin. When the people had no candles they learned their lesson and played cards by the fire-light
Kathleen Gannon

Told by 
Patsy Keenahan
Keelogues, Greggs P.D
Co.Galway

Basket Making
Long 'go when I was a "gasoon" nobody hadcarts to bring home the turf or do any other work on their houldins (farms). They used "cleeves" (baskets) instead tied on the asses back. This is how the "cleeves" were made. "Sally (sallow) rods that were not very thick were cut and tied in bundles. When the the "cleeve" maker had sorted the rods he took two more and stuck them in the ground together, then he took two more and stuck them in the ground about four inches down from the first. He kept on at this until he had made a square two or three feet each way or each side. He wove the rods in and out through the rods that were standin' until he had woven the cleeve the height he wanted it. Then he twisted the ends of the rods, that were