Fuel in Early Ireland Era

Above: One of fuel at that time, coal.

Fuel consisted of turf, wood, charcoal or gual chrainn and probably coal from mines. Flint, steel and tinder were used for lighting or kindling fires. Until recently, touch or brown paper steeped in saltpetre and logwood was used. Light was derived from dipped candles, peeled rushes dipped in tallow, meat-grease, fish-oil, butter and lard, beeswax candles, and splinters of bogwood. Oil lamps and beautiful candlesticks are known to have existed also and are referred to in detail elsewhere.
Houses: The relative sizes of the houses occupied by the various grades of people we find set out in the Crith Gabhla. The smallest house there referred to is the Teach Incis, built for an old man who gave up his land to his friends on condition that they maintained him. Seventeen feet the size of it, woven to the lintel; a weather-board between every two weavings to the roof-ridge ; two doorways, one having a door, the other a hurdle ; a roof of hazel, and a board of oak between every two beds. The og-aire’s house was nineteen feet long, the back house thirteen ; the house of the aitheach ar aitreabh twenty feet, the back house fourteen.
The boaire feabhsa had a house of twenty-seven feet with a back house of fifteen, a share in a mill, a kiln, a barn, a sheep-pen, a calf house, a pig stye. The fear fotla had a house of twenty-seven feet with a back house of seventeen. The house of the aife desa, described elsewhere, was twenty-seven feet long with a back house to match ; and that of the aire tuise wenty-nine feet with back house of nineteen :   eight bedsin the house with perfect furniture, six couches with pillows and sitting cushions ; iron household tools for every work and a meat vessel to hold a cow and a hog. The aire coisriug had a house of thirty feet, a back house of nineteen, while the aire forghaiU’s house was thirty feet, the back house twenty, with household furniture and implements for every quarter of the year.