Cork's Butter Trade
Butter has been an important food for the people in Cork for Centuries. Cork butter has also been exported all over the world for Centuries. In the eighteenth Century butter was especially important because it was sent all over the British Empire. The Cork Butter Market opened in 1770 and lasted until the 1st world war. The gates of the Market would open at six o'clock. A man coming from Macroom bringing three firkens of butter to the Market would have to travel for nearly twenty four hours to reach the city. He would bring a bale of hay for his pony, and for himself a brown cake and a pocketful of oatmeal and money for a drink. All butter firkens were made of oak, sycamore or good hard wood and they weighed 15 lbs. Butter was shipped to Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the west Indians and several other countries.
     
Outside the 'Buttera' Firkin Map
Our group outside the Butter Museum A Butter firken The map showing exports from Cork
 

 

 

  
Tour of the Butter Market
The Butter Museum is in the old Butter Exchange on the Northside of Cork City, beside Shandon church. It opened in 1770 and it lasted until the beginning of the First World War. When we visited we saw lots of stuff connected with butter. We saw an old churn of butter which was found in Co. Offaly. It was1400 years old and the butter was still in it. That is proof that butter has been important for centuries in Ireland. We also saw a map showing where people came from to bring butter to the Butter Exchange. We saw notices about the rules of butter supplying and the price of butter. We saw a separator and I got to turn it. It was used to separate the milk from the cream. My teacher told us that when she was small it was her job to do the separating .The last thing we saw was a collection of butter stamps for putting designs on the butter on special occasions . If you were a bit artistic you would use them for any butter you made.
     
Churn Table Prints
The 1400 year old churn found in Co. Offaly A table for washing the butter The butter prints
 

 

 

By Nicole and Sinead