Portacarron in the 1930s

Transcription of narrative from the Schools Collection XIX.

Written by Annie Clancy, Oughterard, c. 1937.

“I live in Portacarron in the Parish of Oughterard and in the barony of Moycullen. There are twelve houses in my village now but long ago there were fourteen houses in it. There are five houses with slates and seven houses with thatch. The most of these houses long ago were thatched. The most common name in the village are Clancys because there are two families of Clancys in it and only one family of the others. It got its name because there was a lot of bogs in it. There are three people in Portacarron who are over 70 years of age. Their names are Patrick Healy, Michael Joyce and Mrs Walsh. Most of the old people know Irish but the young people don’t. The principle ruins in my village are an old chapel that was there long ago, an old house of the Burkes and an old granary of the Walshes. The people are not as fond of going to America now as they were long ago. The land is not so good in Portacarron. It is good in some parts and the rest of its bogs. There are no rivers of importance or lakes in Portacarron except the Corrib passes by side of it.”