THE HEARTH

The focal point of the house was the hearth. This was formed of paving stones places edge to edge and this slightly raised above the level of the floor. The fire burned here constantly. The crane was fixed at one side and extended across the fireplace so that pots could be placed directly on top of the fire. The crooks attached to the crane allowed the pots to be positioned at different levels.

At night the fire was "raked". Two red coals were laid on the hearth, turf was placed on each side and the ashes were piled over these . By morning the turf had become red coals as well and served to light the fire. Through the link established by the "rakings" the fire had continuity with the dead generations back to the time when first a fire was lit on the hearth. That primal fire was lit from that of an older house and so linked up with still earlier generations.

Here by the hearth at night, and especially in the winter, sat not only the family but also friends and neighbours. By this communal contact the story of Ireland and its folklore were transmitted orally by the story-tellers. Stories were told and re-told because time was plentiful in the long winter evenings of a leisurely age. No radio or television marred the peace and serenity of life in those days.

No memory remained so vivid in the mind of the emigrant in New York, Boston or elsewhere as that of the homely gathering by the fireside in an Inis Eoghain cottage during the winter. It was the scene of so many sorrows shared by sympathetic neighbours and of so many joys multiplied by the presence of friends . With longing the exile sang:

Houses grand on a foreign strand
Cannot be compared at all
To a cottage bright on a winter's night
In the hills of Donegal

Back