School: Killavilla
- Location:
- Killavilla, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: M. Ní Dhubhlaoich
Open data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- There are many sayings about May-Day, and in Ireland especially many of the old customs are still practiced. Our forefathers must have been very superstitious, for, even at the present time, some people believe that the fairies are particularly busy during May.Here are some of the customs which are practiced on May-Eve and on May-Day.
(1)If a woman is churning, she puts a red coal into the churn before starting, so that if anyone comes in, they cannot take the butter through the exercise of any magic powers.IIIt is also the custom to put a branch of a chestnut tree over the door on May-Eve to keep the fairies, who are travelling from north to south, from entering the house.IIITo bring a blessing on your crops or your house, you are supposed to put a piece of "maypole", or rowan tree as it is sometimes called, over the door or on the headland.There are very many(continues on next page)- Collector
- Cathleen Hanley
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Ballinlough, Co. Offaly
- Informant
- Mrs Hanley
- Relation
- Parent
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Ballinlough, Co. Offaly