School: Finiskill (roll number 13075)
- Location:
- Finiskil, Co. Leitrim
- Teacher: Cathal Ó Floinn
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0219, Page 353
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- (continued from previous page)When the dog eats grass rain is not far distant. The cat is also supposed to foretell rain by jumping high into the air to catch flies or midges. On summer evenings if midges bite and annoy people unduly, they say that there will be a "bad break" in the weather. The presence on the roads or in the meadows of another winged pest - the flying ant - is also regarded as an omen of approaching rain.
If blackbirds cackle in a discordant way instead of indulging in their full throated melody, it is commonly looked upon as an indication of frost in the air. Another sign of frost is a straight column of smoke rising from the chimney. When older people complain of pains in their bones rain is expected to follow. Many old people locally can tell with remarkable accuracy when the east wind is about to begin blowing, even though they may be bed-ridden, or confined, through the feebleness of old age to the chimney corner. "I always get an awful dart of a pain in my hip when that uald black east wind is coming" was an observation made by an old neighbour of mine. Incidentally, the east wind is looked upon, by old people especially, as a "bad wind" - a carrier of all kinds of ailments and "badness" generally.(continues on next page)
