The O’Connell’s have lived in Caherlehelon for over 200 years. Paddy (78) of Caherlehelon, Cahersiveen pointed out the old family thatched cottage which is now a cow-house in the farmyard. This interview centres around the life of a hill-farmer, and his day-to-day routine, which has never altered. Now at his advanced age he still climbs the mountains with his sheep-dog, and he explained that he knew every square inch of the many miles of mountain in the area. He says that things now are good, but that in the thirties and forties, survival was very difficult indeed.
Keywords: hill farming, cottage, sheep farming, self sufficiency, sheep dog
