Hedge School

Hi, I’m Caoime and I am going to tell you about the first day I went to school. It was the 13th of December 1700 when I was nine years old. I’m a catholic so I had to go to a Hedge school. I walked in to the forest clearing where the school was when a familiar sight met my eyes, a damp building made of sods joined on to a ditch stood before me “ this is it” I thought and entered through a hole in the side of the school. It was nothing like I’d expected, for one thing I expected chairs but no chairs just lumps of turf and boulders, another I expected desks, but no, only our laps to work on. The Principal was the only one there his name was Mr O Sullivan. When everyone had arrived we did reading and then writing and after that Latin, that’s when it happened, when they came!! Mr O Sullivan was droning on and on about different ways to say this and that. I was more interested in the faint scream of someone being stabbed. Just then one of the men supposed to be on watch for enemies came in and said “There coming everyone must flee”. Everyone started screaming and running out the door. I ran and tripped I knew I couldn’t catch up so I hid behind a bush and hoped and prayed to all the gods I could think of that the English army wouldn’t catch me. They didn’t catch me thank God but they did catch Mr O Sullivan. I saw them slit his throat!!

Hedge Schools

 

Last Monday I was just coming back from Mr. Dignam’s hedge school it was soooo boring. We sat on stones in front of the hidden behind a big ditch. We had to do our work on our knees. Mr Dignam school is an outside school it is summer time, and last Sunday before the day I left. It was horrible weather, our copies kept on blowing away and the whole place was all muddy. On Saturday a prodesent guy saw our fire and he came through our door at the other side of the ditch and started looking for us but we all hid in a hiding spot and he didn’t see us. Well except for Bill. He got taken away. I learn mostly maths and English. All of my other brothers and sisters are all at home because my parents can’t afford to pay for them as well. We don’t have much land and life is very hard. I have four brothers and six sisters my brothers also learn maths and English. My sisters learn Latin,  Greek and writing. My mom said she is soon going to send me to a prodasent school. I used to have a different teacher called Mr. de Jong he went to a different village because no one was able to pay him or give him any food.

“Steve dad wants you to help him with the cattle”.

“Ok mother”. Well I have to go. Bye

By Naimh de Jong

This year, as part of our Christmas tests, Mrs Dignam asked us to interview a relative about Christmas long ago. We compared Christmas in the past to Christmas today and discovered that some things have changed a lot but also that many traditions have stayed the same. 

Below you can read Seán O Connor's report based on an interview with his grandfather. 

Christmas Past and Present by Seán O Connor, 5th class.

Christmas tree and decorations

My grandfather and his family always put up a Christmas tree. They did not do as much decorating as people do now. There tree was real and he also said that most of the families in the countryside had a real Christmas tree in his childhood.  His family always had a star on the tree but others had an angel on it. The Christmas tree and the manger were put up a week before Christmas. 

Santa Claus and What He Brought

The appearance of Santa has never changed. A bottle of Guinness was left out for him. The main thing that was got from Santa was crayons, apples and oranges. My granddads favourite present he had got was a pack of crayons. He never got a toy. None of  the presents that he got would be much appreciated  but it would be the opposite if a child today got it as a lot of the presents today are technology such as Nintendo DS or Play stations, games tables, and many other things.

Christmas Dinner

My granddad and his family had all home-grown food. The only thing they bought was Christmas cake and barn brack. Barn brack was eaten during the Christmas holiday. I find it interesting that it was a treat back then and only mainly eaten during Halloween now a days. They family ate goose and vegetables with it. They rarely had a turkey. Christmas cake and trifle were had for dessert. Only the family were invited to dinner as there was ten eating altogether. The dinner was eaten at about two o clock.

Entertainment and the Weather during Christmas

My granddad and his brothers and sisters played a card game called thirty one which my granddad still plays today. The boys played football with each other as well. There weather was nearly always cold but only snowed on occasions.

Traditions

One of the biggest traditions that time was to go on the wren on ST. Stevens Day. The wran is when children go to peoples houses and say, “the wran, the wran, the king of all birds, ST. Stevens Day he got cot in the furs, up the kettle and down the pan, give me a penny to bury the wran. I do it every year I can. Other than that the traditions are the same as now

 Christmas Memories from My Granddads childhood

This is one of my granddads favourite memories. One day when my granddad was going on the wran, himself and his friends put on masks. They were out all day but got no food as nobody would know who they were. In the evening the were so hungry that they went into a field and each eat a raw head of cabbage!

Mrs Dignam loved the descriptions in Liam's Christmas story. She decided everyone should read it. Well done Liam.

A Christmas Tale by Liam Breen
It was a lovely white Christmas morning. My dad was after making a cosy, warm fire. I loved the way the embers flew up so lively like a kid on a holiday. The crackle from the wood made a sound that said it was Christmas. My favourite time of year had come.
It was then, while I dived into a big present, that the phone rang. "Hello. This is James". It was my uncle Jamesy. The man who makes Christmas special. I could hear the phone line breaking up . Then we lost connection. I rang again. "Hi Jamesy. Can't wait to see you". "Pass me on to your mom, okay?" "Diane, can I talk to you?"."Sure". I won't be home this Christmas". "Wh... wh... what do  you mean?" "Listen. I'm out in the middle of nowhere and my car gave up"."What shall I tell Liam?" "I don't know". I opened a small rectangular present. It was a PSP game!! How happu I was. It was great. "When's Jamesy coming home?" I asked mom half interested. "Wait there's still one more present". But before I opened it I read the card, From Jamesy. I knew mom you not be pleased if I opened it without Jamesy being there. I retreated away from the present.
I wolfed down my juicy turkey and stared out the window. My mom put her arm around me and said "Jamesy won't be here this Christmas". "Why, what happened?" Mom explained. I stormed upstairs and laid on my bed. I wished I could have my uncle James home. I slept for 3 hours and woke up and walked outside. It was Santa. He had my uncle Jamesy in his sleigh. It was a miracle!