Ploughing and Sowing The plough was one of the few pieces of equipment used by farmers. Nearly everything involved manual work. This engraving shows a youth ...
Paying the Rent Rent was usually paid by tenant farmers in May and November. Failure to pay increased the threat of eviction.
Farm Horses Wealthy farmers owned horses. They were used for a variety of purposes on the farm.
Cattle Cattle were bought and sold at fairs. Local breeds were popular. This is a Kerry cow.
Cutting Oats The sickle was often used to cut oats, the most important cereal crop in Ulster.
Retting Flax The next step was to soak the flax in a pond or dam. This allowed the ‘shous’ to rot, leaving the linen fibres. This process was known ...
Flax pulling About four weeks after flowering the flax was ready to be pulled. This was done by hand and the flax was then tied in bundles.
Flax in Bloom As the demand for linen increased, more and more land was given over to flax. Sown in late March/early April, it took about 70 to 80 ...
Lazy Beds The wide ridges used to grow potatoes were known as lazy beds.
Manure to the fields Manure was spread on the fields to make the land more fertile. In coastal areas they used seaweed.
