This article is a description of how in days gone by the fireplace was the heart of the family home

Around The Fireplace
By Paul McCann

Before the days of central heating and electric fires all the houses in Ardoyne had an open fire place . In the winter when men and women came home from work there was always a welcome there with a warm fire flickering . Once you sat down in front of the fore there was no escape . Sooner or later you had to choose to leave the fire to get another bucker of coal from out in the back yard . The real heart of every home was there around in all the homes . It was there at the centre of home where people talked and relaxed .A place of silent retreat and contemplation as well where you could reflect on what had been in the past in the peace of the home . It was a place you could adjust to what was going in the present . Sitting there in front of the fire you were more aware of the winters chill outside and the need to stay warm during the winter months with thoughts shrouded by seasons of the past .
There by the hearth was a poker , brush and wee shovel handing on a stand and sometimes there was few peat briquettes stacked up , on standby ready for burning when the embers were aglow .Some homes had a rocking chair beside the fire and a fireguard with damp clothes drying . The heat from the fire went through the walls and into the next door where some people had clothes hanging up which helped them dry

I can still see my mother squatting down by the fireplace in the morning as she placed some sticks over the scrunched up newspaper and striking a match out of a swift box she lit the paper as smoke arose to give life to the bits of kindling on top of the newspaper paper then she would put on a few bits of coal on top of the sticks and after that she would put a double page from yesterday’s newspaper to create a roaring sound as the fire found an increase of oxygen . In a short minute the flames were leaping up the chimney and soon the coldness was gone , replaced by a welcome warmth for us all to share as we came down for breakfast . She would always ask me to go and bring in some coal as she stood by the stove stirring the porridge in a pot that was slowly coming to the boil . Outside in the yard the snow would be lying over the stack of coal in the corner and birds had already left their tracks in the snow on the ground . Going back inside with a bucket of coal Mammy would give me a smile . The porridge was already on the table in bowls ready for us to eat before going to school
I remember my Daddy use to burn the potatoes skin in the fire and other stuff as well . He knew all about recycling before the world ever did . If it couldn’t be burned it could be crushed or buried in the ground . Often I remember we toasted bread in front of the fire . The pet dogs and cats were always there in front of the fire ,
There were rosaries said and shoes were laid all around the fire and on a Sunday after mass there were the storytellers and poets and those who liked to sing would make their way to certain houses for a folk session and there they would sit around a fire burning to share a story and sing a song or two ,
That was the real folk tradition of old that brought many’s a thing to light from mystical era of time in Ireland ,Music and stories were handed down through the generations to be heard by new generations and so it would go on .Some of the stories were carried by the travelling people who went from place to place with no home of their own .
Other stories were brought back by those who went on the boats or those who had emigrated and left the place of their birth only to return back to the place they call home . Around the mantle of the fireplace there were delph ornaments on display with brass ash trays in the shape of an alligator . There was a clock made of brass and candle holders ready for novenas .The heart of every home was around the fire and the sight of embers glowing at night was a hypnotic experience that needed no TV for escapism . The fire in the hearth had an enchantment of its own in a time when we appreciated life in a different way around the home .

The End

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