Farming through the years in lackagh parish
Lackagh is essentially a rural parish with farming continuing to be a way of life for many families. Mechanisation has undoubtedly make life much easier whilst off farm employment has ensured the viability of the holding and facilitate the smooth passage of the family farm from one generation to the next.
The seasons governed the tasks to be carried out on the farm. Spring signalled the turning of the sod to prepare the ground for tilling and sowing the corn, potatoes and vegetables, spreading fertiliser in the meadow along with the calving and lambing. Summer saw the sheep being shorn and the hay being saved whilst Autumn was about reaping the harvest. The dark evenings of Winter was about feeding the animals with the fodder saved earlier in the year.
Central to all of this work was the horse that pulled the plough and many more implements besides and the local blacksmiths who kept the horse shod and the horse drawn machines mended. The humble Ferguson 20 came to the fore in the 1950s and 60s.
The photos in the slideshow are snapshots of a moment in time in the lives of our parishioners, many of whom have now gone to their eternal reward. Collectively, they also represent a snapshot of a period of time in the evolution of farming methods. More significantly perhaps, they demonstrate the importance of working together as a meitheal which helped see them through many difficult times.
The seasons governed the tasks to be carried out on the farm. Spring signalled the turning of the sod to prepare the ground for tilling and sowing the corn, potatoes and vegetables, spreading fertiliser in the meadow along with the calving and lambing. Summer saw the sheep being shorn and the hay being saved whilst Autumn was about reaping the harvest. The dark evenings of Winter was about feeding the animals with the fodder saved earlier in the year.
Central to all of this work was the horse that pulled the plough and many more implements besides and the local blacksmiths who kept the horse shod and the horse drawn machines mended. The humble Ferguson 20 came to the fore in the 1950s and 60s.
The photos in the slideshow are snapshots of a moment in time in the lives of our parishioners, many of whom have now gone to their eternal reward. Collectively, they also represent a snapshot of a period of time in the evolution of farming methods. More significantly perhaps, they demonstrate the importance of working together as a meitheal which helped see them through many difficult times.