A cailleach, must be pronounced kaylidge, was a bed built into one of the walls in an Irish house, in the kitchen. Cottages were often known as cabins, sometimes having two rooms. Life was sparse. Windows without panes of glass were healthy but often let the rain in. Cabbages and potatoes in the field and a horse or two for the cart if you were lucky. Otherwise Shank’s pony or hitch a ride, which was easy to do in country areas where everybody knew everybody. Church was the get togethers, or visiting. Meals were made in the hearth in a pot on a chain over the fire. Mainly porridge and soup for poor people who didn’t have any meat. Some had cows and a butter churn or swapped vegetables for eggs.
Later, in the fifties there were dances, and bicycles were the thing. The place often had fleas because the British wanted them to move away. The children called the bites ringworm. The so called boom meant offspring left the country for jobs abroad. This scenario probably happened in many other countries. Today, for those who stayed, the story is about the same.