The Irish cabin was the most basic of all accommodation. Typically constructed of mud, turf, and timber, sometimes including random stone, they were not at all fit for human habitation. A rectangular mud hut, with a stone ringed fire as a centrepiece, and no more than a hole in the roof for venting smoke. These single room, windowless, furniture-free, smoky, damp, and draughty habitats were shared with animals. They stank and yet they were the centre of family life. Adjacent to the hut, or even directly in front of its lean-to door, a cess pit would have been dug, thus completing a picture of one of the least desirable residencies on the planet.
