By Brendan Smith, Ballinacree, December 2024

The Christmas Turkey 

When the Ballinacree Historical Society invited me to think about writing a few paragraphs for the website coming up to the Christmas I was wondering what new things could I say about bygone Christmases that have not already been described so well by others.  I can recall the various features that make the season so special, the carol singing, the candle in the window, the big Christmas shopping and of course the arrival of Santa and the joy and excitement of his gifts. It was much less elaborate than nowadays but was welcomed with the same enthusiasm.  Rather than recount those memories, I decided to put down on paper my recollections which have only a tenuous link to Christmas, but which give a flavour of the self-sufficient nature of country living around the middle of the last century.   

 It was the early 1960s and we lived at the time in our old house at the end of a country lane in Ballinacree. The farmyard was at the front of the house where domestic poultry, animals and indeed children ran around freely.  Many small farms like ours at the time were self-sufficient, producing vegetables, eggs, pigs and turkeys for both home use and the market.   People nowadays call it organic farming and speak of free-range products! 

Households that needed a turkey for the Christmas dinner usually reared their own and sold off the surplus to other neighbours or to the shops.   These were the days before hatcheries and my mother provided an important service to the community in maintaining two approved turkey cocks at stud.   I still recall their names – Dick a black one and Charlie a white one. Both of these strutted around the farmyard and were an impressive sight when their feathers were all fluffed up. They could be aggressive and had an aversion to small children and would occasionally launch a sudden assault if we were not careful.  The neighbours, mostly women, brought their female turkeys to our farmyard for service.  Occasionally the visitors to our farmyard brought a little surprise for us children in the form of a packet of sweets and of course we were delighted. 

The turkey owners usually arrived on their bicycles with a box or a basket on the back carrier. There were not too many cars in the area and the bicycle was the prime means of transport for shorter journeys anyway.   We children watched intently as they dismounted in the open yard at the front of the old farmhouse. We knew the procedure that was to follow. The turkey that had been transported on the back of the bike was released into the company of one of our two turkey cocks and nature was let take its course- not that we knew too much about that at the time. But we were observant enough and curious about the whole process however our inquisitiveness was not encouraged by my mother who felt that matters around reproduction was not suitable topics for discussion. 

After a short while the performance was over and the turkey was secured in its container on the back carrier of the bike and the modest fee for the service was handed over to my mother.  The owner then cycled off on their way satisfied with the outcome and I expect that the turkey was too, having enjoyed its romantic encounter in the farmyard. The turkey cocks weren’t complaining either!!  

It is interesting to note that as part of some quality management process there were regular inspections by the Department of Agriculture to ensure that all the proper procedures were undertaken and that the quality of the nation’s turkey stock was not being diminished by the use of unauthorised turkey cocks for breeding purposes. My mother dreaded the visits of the inspector who usually appeared when least expected.  She probably had enough on her plate without the extra hassle of an inspection and the fear that it would not go well. 

Her own mother, Mrs Lynch of Ardfrail, provided a similar service where she kept a gander to service the domestic geese of the area which were also used for the Christmas dinner.  Apparently on one day the inspector arrived and the children were sent out to locate the gander. They were unable to do so and arrived back and presented a goose for inspection – the inspector was none the wiser!   

I don’t recollect how long my mother kept at this role which provided a good service to the local community and provided a small income for herself but I suppose, more importantly, it gave her a social outlet to meet other women of the area living, as she did, fairly isolated at the end of a country lane without any of the modern communication appliances we have today.