BSW2 18. Tending to the valley
Nov 03, 2021, 02:10 PM
Speaker: Helen Meehan
From the Bluestack Way Part 2 playlist.
Patrick Campbell had happy memories of a hard day's work out in this valley: 'After the saving of the turf and hay, we children looked forward to the day of the gathering in and the building of the haystack. For weeks we talked of this day of days in glee on our way to and from school, the day when a meitheal of neighbouring men would gather to a mountain home and help make the haystack and secure it against winter storms. The meitheal took place from one mountain to another until all the hay cocks were safely gathered in and built in stacks in gardens or haggards.
There were very few horses around our mountain in my school days, so the hay was all carried on men’s backs, but even at this heavy work there was competition and fun. Men worked in pairs and tied their hay burdens with tether ropes. Their arms were then put in behind the ropes and each man helped the other man up to his knees and onto his feet with the heavy load of hay on each man’s back. The pair of men who would move a tramp cock of hay in the shortest period of time and with the least number of burdens became the champions of the meitheal and were entitled to pride of place at the haystack party.
That would be a night to be remembered, a mixture of old and young, where young would have a chance to listen to songs of their parents and grandparents and the older folk would hear and listen to the latest songs from the young folk. In most mountain homes, there was some sample of Irish or Scotch whiskey – Paddy Flaherty, John Jameson or John Powers – or perhaps here and there a sup of the good auld mountain dew kept in the hole in the wall near the kitchen bed.
In our audio piece, Helen Meehan tells us more about how people used to tend to this valley in the olden days
From the Bluestack Way Part 2 playlist.
Patrick Campbell had happy memories of a hard day's work out in this valley: 'After the saving of the turf and hay, we children looked forward to the day of the gathering in and the building of the haystack. For weeks we talked of this day of days in glee on our way to and from school, the day when a meitheal of neighbouring men would gather to a mountain home and help make the haystack and secure it against winter storms. The meitheal took place from one mountain to another until all the hay cocks were safely gathered in and built in stacks in gardens or haggards.
There were very few horses around our mountain in my school days, so the hay was all carried on men’s backs, but even at this heavy work there was competition and fun. Men worked in pairs and tied their hay burdens with tether ropes. Their arms were then put in behind the ropes and each man helped the other man up to his knees and onto his feet with the heavy load of hay on each man’s back. The pair of men who would move a tramp cock of hay in the shortest period of time and with the least number of burdens became the champions of the meitheal and were entitled to pride of place at the haystack party.
That would be a night to be remembered, a mixture of old and young, where young would have a chance to listen to songs of their parents and grandparents and the older folk would hear and listen to the latest songs from the young folk. In most mountain homes, there was some sample of Irish or Scotch whiskey – Paddy Flaherty, John Jameson or John Powers – or perhaps here and there a sup of the good auld mountain dew kept in the hole in the wall near the kitchen bed.
In our audio piece, Helen Meehan tells us more about how people used to tend to this valley in the olden days