School: Boireann

On this page

1. May Day (continued)

   

   Share Share Post

   (continued from previous page)

   The people told the priest and he would not believe them. He went out himself next May day and did and said just the same as the farmer had done a "Leath Chugham-sa." To his surprise he had baskets of butter that year from his two cows' milk.

   The old people said if a girl met a brown snail first May morning she would marry a brown man and if she met a black snail - a black man. Girls used pick up the first snail they met and put him on a plate of flour and cover him with another plate. They said the snail when crawling on the flour used write the initials of the man to whom the girl who put him there would be married.

   To protect themselves against colds for the year people used wash themselves in the dew before sunrise on May morning.

   The last two are from Timothy Kelly, a workman, who worked for my father when I was about 18. He is now about 65 or so.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)
         1. May (~639)

   Informant

   Mrs William O' Driscoll

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   c. 60

   Address

   Burren, Co. Cork

   Informant

   Timothy Holland

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   61

   Occupation

   Feirmeoir

   Address

   Clooncalla More, Co. Cork

   Informant

   Timothy Kelly

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   c. 65

   Occupation

   Fear oibre

   Informant

   William O' Driscoll

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Burren, Co. Cork