School: Dhuish
- Location:
- Dooish, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: P. Ó Murchadha
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1013, Page 236
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- (continued from previous page)If a young child were going out, perhaps to visit a neighbour's house it was customary to tie a garin of meal in the corner of its bib, the idea being to save it from being stolen and 'swopped' by the fairies.
The habit customary among women of wetting their finger and touching a smooth iron to see if it is not too hot is traced to an incident that is supposed to happen in this area. This girl was stolen by the fairies an put to iron clothes. To find if the iron was sufficiently hot she touched it with her finger. She burned herself and exclaimed 'God bless us' Where upon she was released and was discovered at daybreak on Quarry Fort.
It was customary when removing a corpse for burial to touch ground with either corpse of hair before leaving townland of deceased.
It was usual to make a hole with a pole out through the thatch of room in which body was waked. This was to let death out of the house.
Strawmen or 'Granneas' were men who dressed in straw and presented themselves at weddings demanding drink and refreshments. If request not granted them played all sorts of pranks on the newly weds, collecting all the straw and burning it(continues on next page)
