bargain concerning the dowry. The dowry is given to the bridegroom by the bride's father. It always consists of money and this money is called a 'fortune'. No old people ever remember marriages taking place in the houses. A marriage feast is generally always given in the bride's house and a great many neighbours and friends attend it. When the bridegroom takes his bride to his own house a crowd of young boys gather together and they cover their heads, their faces, and their shoulders with straw. When they reach the house they sing and dance. Then the bridegroom either gives them whiskey or porter or sometimes when he had no drink for them he gives them money. When they get the money they go to the nearest public house and spend it there. Long ago the people went to marriages on horse back. When the marriage was over the men raced to the bride's house on horse

In this neighbourhood the marriages are usually held between Easter and Advent. The days which marriages are usually held on are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The days thought to be unlucky for marriages are Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays and the months thought to be unlucky are, May, June and July.
Matches are not made in this district. The bridegroom asks the girl, There is no dowry given. There are never any stock or goods given as a dowry. All marriages

daughter be willing to marry the young man.
If the man gives his consent the next thing to ask about is what will he give her for a wedding dowry. Different things are given as a dowry. It depends on the wealth of the girl’s father. The smallest dowry is a few hens or a hatching of eggs.
It has never been known locally of marriages taking place in the house.
A custom at a wedding is that the bride and bridegroom cut the wedding cake.
If a wedding feast is held it is usually in the young woman’s house or sometimes in a hotel. It is called a reception.
In olden times straw boys visited the house that

The marriage customs nowadays differ much fr from the customs that prevailed fifty or a hundred years ago
When a young couple wish to marry the match is made. That is to say if if the parents are satisfied. a local public-house is selected where the match is made.
The parents of the boy and the girl and a few friends meet at the public-house. when they are in good form for talking the match begins. When the boy's good qualities are all given, the girl is praised by her father. Then the question about dowry is discussed. If the girl is going to live in the boys house she is to give him a fortune but if he is to live in her house he is obliged to give her the dowry. The size of the fortune is given according to the size and qualities of the farm. £300 is

Since the eighteenth century marriages frequently took place on Shrove Tuesday. June is considered to be the luckiest month of the year to be married in, and Wednesday the luckiest day of the week.
Money is given as a dowry; and when people can afford to give enough money, some stock is given. But if the bride is supposed to be good looking, she does not have to get much of a dowry. Her face is her fortune. Some times if a man saw a girl whom he wished to make his wife, and her parents were not agreeable to such a match, he kidnapped her and locked her in his house, or that of a friend, until her parents had to give their

The people in my local district usually get married during the period from the first of January to Shrove Tuesday.
Mondays and Fridays are supposed to be unlucky days to get married.
The matches are made in a public house on a marked day or a fair-day by the parties concerned and sometimes there is a neighbor with them. There is usually a dowry of money given by the bride but if the bridegroom is going to live in the brides home and if her parents are alive the bridegroom has to give them money.
Stock or goods are never given as dowry in my district.

Most marriages take place in Summer. Marriages do not take place very often now. June and July are lucky months. May is an unlucky month.
Sometimes two parties meet together in order to make a match. This is called matchmaking. The people go into a public house, and they drink, feast and make great joy, and fun. Then the dowry or fortune of the girl is agreed upon. Sometimes the dowry causes the breaking off of a match.
When weddings

many matters would be settled. A dowry, which usually consisted of money or of goods and sometimes of goods and stock, was bestowed on the girl and oftentimes the match was broken when a sufficiently large dowry was not given. This gave rise to the song entitled:-
"My Father's Grey mare"
If both parties agreed the father of the bride often visited the bridegroom's home to view his possessions and this was locally termed "Stepping the land".

Long ago marriages used to take place during Shrove which the people called Seraft.
Most of them used to get married on Shrove Tuesday. They thought Wednesday a lucky day for getting married. Matched were mostly made. Money was given as dowry. Long ago money, land and stock was given as dowry.
Matches were made. First of all the man would ask the girl's people. Then they would settle about the fortune either in the girl's house or else they would meet in town. They would arrange a day and meet in town.

Marches are made in our district in the following way.
The boy that intends to get married sends a friend of his to the girl's home to ask her in marriage from her parents. The messenger usually brings a bottle of whiskey with him and this he divides amongst the girls parents and brothers if she has any. Then he introduces the marriage and if the girl and her parents consent a day is appointed for them to meet in town. Then they dowry and day to get married is arranged upon. Money is given as a dowry and sometimes stock

girls house to ask her in marriage from her parents. If the girl and her parents consent a day is appointed for the couple to meet in town.
When they meet they arrange about a dowry and the day to be married.
Money is given as a dowry and sometimes stock.After the marriage some of the men would race on horseback to the brides home and whichever of they would arrive first would get a bottle of whiskey which he would distribute amongst the rest of the party when they would arrive.

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The usual time for marriages is between January the sixth and Shrove Tuesday which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. In olden times it was the custom for a man to send a friend of his to the parents of the girl he intended to make his wife and to see how much money she had as a dowry. The dowry expected varied according to the size of his place. Next a certain day was fixed on when they met to finally settle on the exact sum of money. If the arrangement was arrived at to the satisfaction of both parties the young man and girl went and bought a ring and managed the date of the marriage.
Certain days are regarded as lucky, others as unlucky. Monday is for luck, Tuesday health, Wednesday for

Marriages most frequently occur in Shrove. The month of May was supposed to be an unlucky month for marriage, also Tuesdays and Saturdays were considered unlucky days.
There was a great amount of match-making done in Ireland long ago. The wife had to pay a dowry to the husband. This dowry consisted of money, but if people were too poor to give money they would give cattle instead. Nearly all the people were married in a house, and the priest came there to marry them.
On the wedding day there would be a wedding feast in the bride's home. During the feat "Straw-boys" came. They were dressed in straw. When they came to the house they had pitch forks and they put on the pitch forks a note demanding whatever they wanted, generally money. They also asked for drinks. If they got these they went away quietly. If

Marriages take place generally between Christmas and shrove in our district, but the months of May and June are also thought to be lucky. Some days of the week are held to be unlucky and they are Fridays and Saturdays.
The people in this district are as a rule reluctant to marry owing to financial difficulties and some remain in single blessedness owing to lack of courage to face the responsibilities of married life. Those that do marry are usually well over thirty and are termed 'young cubs' at that. ('cubs' being the name used locally for 'young boys'). The husband seldom goes beyond the district for a wife.
Matches are very common in the district, money being given usually as dowry. Stocks were rarely given as dowry.

Marriages took place in general in this area from the New year until Shrove Tuesday, that time was called "seraft". The days appointed for marriages were Mondays and Thursdays. The days appointed for marriage. The invitations would be given one week before any of those days. On shrove Tuesday also many marriages used to take place. From the New year on to shrove Tuesday these marriages were settled by matchmaking. The intended groom would send a neighbour or comrade man with a bottle of whisky to ask the girl from her parents and if there was no objection, they would appoint a certain night or day to settle the match. The dowry was paid to the groom on the day of the marriage, which was generally speaking from fifty to a hundred pounds. Portion of the dowry might often be given in stock. The bride used get a present from her home of a feather tick and linens. About ninety years ago marriages took place in private houses. The marriage customs were four or five cars and in some cases they walked to the chapel. The groom always brought a fiddler and he used always play in front of the crowd and he used play on the first car if there

more marriages take place before Lent than at any other time of the year. The next Sunday after Ash Wednesday was called "Smut" Sunday because it was believed that the girls who were left unchosen had a "smut" or cross face on them. In olden times it was mostly cattle or goods which were given as a dowry to the bride. This custom of giving a dowry is still continued. When the newly married pair came out of the church those gathered at the wedding threw rice at them. At midnight on the night of the wedding the strawboys caused great excitement. They were dressed in old clothes and straw hats and they had with them some musical instruments. They always asked the bride to dance with them and if well treated made great fun but if they were not made welcome they were often a source of annoyance.
Brigid Mc Manus, Buggaun, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim.
Mrs Mc Manus (same address) 45 yrs

fiddles and melodeons with them and played and danced until the feast was over. Long ago girls used to go bandbegging and dressed themselves in boys' clothes and put veils on thier faces so that they would not be known. When a bride and groom were married the bride when to live the groom's house and then she could not go home to see her people until she was a month living in her new home. When the brides and groom were married and when the groom bought the bride to his house it was called the dragging home or hauling home. Long ago the bride always got a fortune. The fortune she would get was twenty pounds or the farm. The way the parties used to meet was that a man would go to the girl's house and appoint a night for the girl to meet the intended groom. The intended groom asked the girl what fortune or dowry she had. If he liked her and was satisfied with her fortune or dowry he would agree to marry her. He would then tell what land he had and if the girl's parents liked him and

Local Marriage CustomsMarriages of the present day differ in many ways from marriages of long ago. Marriages took place oftener in a time of the year called "Seraft". In most cases match-maker's went to the house and made a match beteem a boy and a girl. The girl got a dowry of money and the boy a dowry of land, if the parents were able to afford it.The groom-to-be and the bride-to-be went to the church to get married, on horseback, the boy in front and the girl on pillion seat behind him, and the neighbour's followed behind in like-manner. The groom wore a swallow-tailed frieze coat, white breeches, long stocking's. The bride wore a long silk dress, a mantle over it, and a bonnet

"Marriage Customs"
Shrove tide is the period of the year that marriages generally took place in. The unlucky months to get married in, are October and May and the unlucky days are Friday, Saturday and Tuesday. Before the marriage was celebrated the friends of the couple to be married made the match. The man got money as dowry ad she also brought linens and silver with her. On rare occasions stock or good were given as dowry. In the Penal days the priest came to the houses to marry the people. In olden days it was thought lucky for the groom to be in the Church about ten minutes before the bride. After the wedding the feast was held in the brides house. It was customary to set every-one drunk.

Most local marriages take place in Shrove but they are also held at any other time of the year. The month of May is supposed to be an unlucky month for a marriage. Friday is also an unlucky day. Monday is supposed to be a lucky day. Matches are made locally. Money is given as a dowry. Long ago goods, stock and furniture were give as a dowry but they are not given now. It must be a long time since marriages took place in houses as all marriages take place in the Church now.
Marriage customs vary according to the district. What is called "the supper" takes place before the marriage in the house of the bride. When the marriage is over there is "the wedding at the mans house. Others go away on their honeymoon, and make a wedding when they