Food in Olden Times

It has been handed down to us that the people in olden times had but three meals a day. these were breakfast, dinner and supper. Breakfast was eaten about 8 o’clock A.M., dinner was usually at 1 o’clock p.m. and supper was eaten when the people had finished their work which was usually 6 o’clock p.m. The people had two hours work done in the morning before breakfast, the breakfast consisted of bread and milk and sometimes potatoes, the dinner consisted of potatoes, milk, salt and eggs and meat on Sundays. Porridge and milk were the foods usually eaten for supper. Butter-milk was drunk at very meal.

Collector: Pearl Cleary

Informant: Mrs E. Jennings, Esker

Place: Esker, Co. Galway

Footnote: Duchas, http://www.duchas.ie