School: Cordangan, Tiobraid Árann (roll number 9670)
- Location:
- Cordangan, Co. Tipperary
- Teacher: Brighid Ní Cheallaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0579, Page 355
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- St. Stephen's Day falls on the twenty-six th of December. A custom for boys and men is to gether together at a cross road and to go hunting the wren. They then get a holly bush and decorate it with ribbons and coloured paper. They dress themselves up in strange clothes and visit every house in the district. They bring all kinds of musical instruments such as a mouth-organ, a melodians, jew-harp, a drum and flutes. They disguise themselves with eye-fiddles ont heir faces. At each house they place music and dance and sing this song.
"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze
Although she is little her family is great,
I pray you, good lady, give us a treat
I have a little money-bag under my arm.
A half-crown will do it no harm.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Josephine Kinane
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Ballyglass Lower, Co. Tipperary
