School: Star of the Sea, Glengivney (roll number 12334)

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1. Local Fairs (continued)

   

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   When the buyer receives the "luck penny" he spits on it and puts it into his pocket. Then the seller says "good luck to you and the beast" and the buyer says "Good luck to you and the money".
   Animals are marked in the following manner. Sheep are sometimes painted, or a bit of the wool clipped off with a scissors, others are marked with keel, sometimes the dealer just smears them with mud. Farmers mark their sheep by clipping their ears or splitting them. Cattle are marked with keel also, or clipped on the flank, or "scored" with a sharp knife and bled.
   Halters are given to the buyers of horses with the horse. Cattle are taken on ropes to fairs, but if several farmers are taking young cattle, they drive them in droves. The rope used for taking the cow is given "into the bargain" to the buyer.
   Sheep are taken to the fair in flocks, the farmers join together and drive them, sometimes with the help of a sheep dog.
   The best sheep fair, for ewes and lambs is the May fair in Moville, also the Carn fair in May. The spring fairs are good for young cattle, because the farmers buy them themselves and graze them. Spring fairs are also for horses. The Christmas fair or market which falls on the twenty sixth of December is the biggest horse fair of the year. There is a "ram fest" at Hallowe'en in Carn

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. trade
            1. buying and selling (~3,622)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Kathleen Crumlish

   Gender

   Female

   Informant

   Dan Sweeney

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   73

   Address

   Glennagiveny, Co. Donegal