The Family Dresser and Stories from the Kitchen - Tommy Delaney, Courtnacuddy, Co Wexford

Описание: Here is a chat that I recorded back in January in the home of Tommy Delaney in Courtnacuddy here in Wexford.

I called over to see Tommy's dresser which was made by his father, Tommy snr, made in 1935 with the aid of a candle held by his newly wedded wife. They got married in 1934 and he’d be working for the farmers during the daylight hours and when he got home, he made this on the kitchen floor with his wife holding the candle.

This was Tommy’s home place and there was an older dresser there which fell apart. The house goes back to the early 1800s and it has the exact same footprint as many single story thatched houses in Wexford with the kitchen to the left as you go in and the dresser on the partition wall approx 8 foot away from the open fire.

The minute I saw it I noticed a feature that I’ve only seen in the south-east of Ireland and over in Brittany where there were slots for the spoons to hang. The great thing about this dresser is it’s still in daily use and is situated by the cooker and is the home for the salt, pepper and a great spot for the eggs. This was the spot the eggs were always left in the time of his mother and sure if it works, why change it!

I also passed comment on what would be in the drawers and with Tommy’s permission, I opened them and they were exactly as expected; the left drawer was used for cutlery while the right one held the book polish, reading glasses etc. This is identical to my own grandmother's dresser and the same with any original dressers in use in older people's homes. I suppose that’s why I love a dresser like this as it’s still in use, it’s practical and layered.

I also noticed how his father put a wood-effect in the paint/varnish. He told me this was original and done using the cork from a bottle of stout. One thing which struck me was during the chat he remembered a verse from a poem which mentions his house. On further questioning he recites the whole poem off the top of his head and mentions that it was collected by the 19th century Wexford folklorist Patrick Kennedy and features in the The Banks of the Boro from 1867.

If you notice at the end I asked him to step out the distance between the dresser and the fire-place. I knew what I was doing and it was a great coincidence that he recited Patrick Kennedy for me as Kennedy has great accounts of dressers and kitchen layouts in Wexford and they were nearly almost 8 foot away from the fire place!
Have a watch as Tommy tells it better than me.