School: Scoil na mBráthar (roll number 16741)
- Location:
- New Ross, Co. Wexford
- Teachers: Aindrias Ó Caoilte Br Ó Cinnéide
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0897, Page 089
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- On St Stephen's day it is an old custom with the young boys of this county to go around wth the wren.
The wren is usually a bunch of feathers tied together in a match box. They call from door to door singing;
"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
On St Stephens day he was caught in the furze,
Although he is small his family is great,
So rise up good people and give us a treat,
Up with the kettle and down with the pan,
Give me a penny to buy the wren,
Although he was small his family was big,
Up with the kettle and give us a jig,
We followed the wren three miles and more,
Over ditches and hedges till our shins were sore,
With your pocket full of money and your belly full of beer,
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year,
Up with the kettle and down with the pan give us our answer and let us be gone."Halloween:
At Halloween every person has great fun. They hang a wheel out of the ceiling. Then they stick an apple a candle and a lump of soap and an orange on it. Then they blindfold someone and whirl the wheel around and try to bite something. Sometimes the person bites the candle but soon finds out his mistake. When he does this everybody laughs because they think it is great fun.
But the person who bit the candle has to drink some water to keep the(continues on next page)
