Interviews

We have interviewed our parents, grandparents and others who have gone to this school or other schools in the area to find out about life at school in the past. Here are some of our questions and answers...

Q: How many rooms and teachers were there when you went to school?

A: There were two rooms in the school which were quite big and two teachers.

Q: Was there any heating?

A: First there was an open fire and some time later they put in the heating.We had to bring turf to school to keep the fire lit.

Q: Did you ever get days off school?

A: Yes, certain days e.g. when the trasher came to trash the corn you would get that day off.

Q: Did you ever play games at break?

A: We used to play catch and basketball. Handball was a big thing because there was a handball alley behind the school(Attymachugh N.S.).

Q: What sports did you play?

A: Sometimes we didn't play football at all because the stones were too sore on our bare feet in the yard.We would move to the field beside the school and play there. If we had no football we played a game to search for the roundest stone and when it was found we'd use it instead of a football!

Q: How did you travel to school?

A: We walked the two miles there and back.

Q: Did you enjoy school?

A: School was tough, there was much more punishment than there is now. There was always a cane and a strap in the corner waiting to be used. We were careful to clean our nails because you could get slapped with a ruler if your hands were dirty!