Varrogue Varieties by John W. Freeman (2008) – memories, verse and photographs of rural life in north Kildare: Staplestown, Timahoe, the thatched forge, the turf bank, the eviction
Varrogue Varieties by John W. Freeman (2008) – memories, verse and photographs of rural life in north Kildare: Staplestown, Timahoe, the thatched forge, the turf bank, the eviction
Varrogue Varieties by John W. Freeman, © John W. Freeman 2008, printed by Naas Printing Ltd, Main Street, Naas, Co. Kildare – a privately published collection of reminiscences, prayers, verse and photographs recording the townland of Varrogue and the life of the surrounding north Kildare countryside in the middle decades of the twentieth century. The cover is a montage of the author's photographs: a cart wheel, a naval vessel at anchor, a cloudscape, and a ticket for 'The Pupils of Staplestown National School present Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' at Staplestown School in 1960, admission 2/-. Contents: Introduction; Prayer; My Drinking Friend; Work for the Lord; A Visit to the Eviction Site; The Eviction; The Corn Pond – Corn Mill; The Use of Pollard; Addition to Above; Restoring a Wooden Window; Bay Window & Photo; Varrogue Photos; Purchase of a Turf Bank; Old Irish Prayers; The Thatched Forge; Shoeing the Horse; Making a Wooden Wheel; More Varrogue Photos; Farrell's Thatched Pub; Travelling Horse Shoulder High; Turkeys for Christmas; The Shop; Timahoe Cookery Class; Variety 2008; Mist, Cloud and Sky; and Varrogue Varieties – followed by 'Extra notes about Kildare County 54 years ago', on the county as it was in the 1950s, from its banks onwards. Written in plain, affectionate prose and verse, the book records crafts and customs that have now all but vanished – the work of the blacksmith and wheelwright, turf-cutting, the thatched pub and the country shop – alongside family and parish memories and a strong sense of place. About 52 pages, 14.8 x 21 cm, paperback, illustrated with black-and-white photographs. A small-run local publication of real interest to families from Staplestown, Timahoe and the surrounding parishes, and to collectors of Irish rural memoir and folklore. THEMES: Co. Kildare local history, Staplestown, Timahoe, Irish rural life, blacksmiths and thatching, turf cutting, folk memory, Irish memoir and verse.
Author: John W. Freeman
Publisher: John W. Freeman
Publication Date: 2008
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Used - Like New