Photograph courtesy of Martin Kinneavy former principal of Glencorrib National School,

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'Bonham' means a suckling pig or piglet comes from the Irish word 'banbh' for little pig.
Most Irish farms kept a few pigs, kept in enclosed area (pigsty) or a field near the farmhouse and feed on the slops or leftover food from the kitchen table.
Up until the plantations, pigs spend a good part of the year in the woods, foraging for wild food such as nuts. But with the cutting down of the forests from the early 17th century by British colonists, the pigs were kept close to rural human habitation.

The two Moran boys in the photo are feeding the bonhams from an elongated wooden feeder known as the trough.

Photograph courtesy of Martin Kinneavy, former principal of Glencorrib National School.

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Glencorrib, Co. Mayo
A farmer would set aside a field or fields where livestock would not be allowed to graze. These fields were known as meadows and were used to produce hay from the long grasses. The hay would provide food for farm animals when there was not enough lush pasture on which to graze particularly during the wintertime. The meadow grass was cut usually in June when it was tall enough and in flower. Up until the late 1890s, the grass was exclusively cut by a hand held scythe. The horse drawn mower of the type shown in the photograph (Glencorrib in County Mayo) started to make an appearance in the Irish countryside.
Once the grass was cut, it was left to dry for a few days, then turned by a fork to dry the far side. It was then shaken out and made into cone-shaped piles known as cocks which were left in the field until dry enough to carry to the barn. The haycocks were secured by ropes made of hay.

Photograph courtesy of Martin Kinneavy, former principal of Glencorrib National School.

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Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. In Ireland, the crops were usually cereal grains such as barley and oats.
The cutting of the grain at harvest is known as Reaping which was undertaken using a hand scythe or horse drawn reaper.
The harvest marked the end of the growing season for grain.
It was the most labour intensive aspect of farming and involved all the family members. Furthermore, neighbours would help each other in turns take in the harvest on each farm. This community interaction was known in Ireland by the Irish word 'Meitheal',
It was the time of the year when those family members that had emigrated to the cities or to England for work, would take their holidays to return home to help in the harvest.
Traditionally, the men and children would work in the fields whilst the women would prepare the food of home made breads, butters, meats laid out on large tables in the farm years for the workers to enjoy. Beverages mainly of tea would be kept in big pots and drunk from big mugs.If the field was too far from the farm house, the food and drinks would be brought to them in enamel crockery.
The end of the harvest would be marked by a big social occasion such as a ceili dance in a barn or farm house. The event one of the social highlights of the year in rural Ireland.
Photograph courtesy of Martin Kinneavy former principal of Glencorrib National School,

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Teabreak time out on the fields of a family farm at An Talamh Garbh (Irish for coarse field) in Glencorrib, Co Mayo.

Photograph courtesy of Martin Kinneavy, former principal of Glencorrib National School.

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