It is believed that Saturday is an unlucky day for a person to be married. Some people say that it is very unlucky for a marriage to be performed during the months of May and August.
Money is usually given as a dowry. It sometimes happens that stock or goods are given as a dowry. It was the custom long ago that the two persons who were to be married should go to the church on decorated horses. It is also the custom that a dance should be held on the day of the marriage. This dance is usually attended by straw-boys. These boys have blind-folds on their faces. They are well received and they behave very well. During olden

Marriages frequently take place before Shrove and during the Summer. May is thought an unlucky month and Friday is an unlucky day for marriage. It is beleived that the people who get married before Shrove will have luck all through their married lives. Matches are made in this district. Money is given as a dowry. Household linens sheets and blankets often form part of the dowry.
No one was ever married in a house within the memory of the present inhabitants of the district. There is an old shoe tied to the car in which the bridal party travel to the Church. The friends of the married pair throw rice and confettie on them when they are leaving the Church. These customs

Weddings occur most frequently before Shrove in this district. During the month of June many get married. The month of May and November are thought to be unlucky for getting married in. Tuesday and Friday are also counted unlucky days for getting married.
Matches are made still in this locality. The parents give money to their daughters as a dowry when they are getting married. They sometimes give the farm if there are no sons to inherit it. Some farmers give stock as a dowry to their daughters, when they are getting married. Other parent give goods such as a shop to their daughters. Some people got married long ago in their houses.
It is the custom to have a wedding breakfast at the bride's house. There is a great spread at the wedding breakfast. They have a wedding cake, ham and chicken, jelly and all kinds of fruit. They also have stout, whiskey and wine at the

custom now. Money is given as a dowry but a hundred years ago stock was given as a dowry. marriages were seldom held in the houses.
The shaking of confetti on a married couiple is still a custom. A feast is held in the bridegroom's house.
About twenty horses would be be at a wedding & when they would be coming home to the house of the bride they would gallop the horses from the church the see what party would arrive first. The party that would be there first would get a bottle of whiskey. The bride would ride on horseback with her husband.

Marriages take place most frequently before lent. Shrove Tuesday is thought unlucky for marriage. The month of May is thought unlucky for marriages. Fridays and Saturdays are thought unlucky days for marriage.
Pancakes are made on Shrove Tuesday and eaten for supper that night. Matches are made in this district. Money is given as dowry. Stocks or goods are not given as dowry. A wedding feast is held in the house of the bride. Straw boys visit the house in order to obtain money. They receive a pound or two which they spend on drink later on. They dress themselves in straw to prevent their identity. A wedding procession or hauling home is not held in this district.

There was usually great fun at the match-making. The suitor went to the bride's house with a bottle of whiskey. The host sat at the head of the table. On his right-hand the suitor's spokesman and company sat and in his left-hand the bride's spokesman and his company. It was considered unlucky to have any woman at the match-making. The suitor's spokesman opened the bottle of whiskey and supplied drinks all round Then he told his errand and asked for the girl and her dowry. The bargain then commenced and when it was settled the suitor's spokesman began to praise the suitor about his farm of land, riches, cattle and how well entitled he was to the best girl in the parish. The bride's spokesman then praised the would be-bride, how industrious she was: how she could sew, knit spin and bake.
There is a story told of a man named Seamas Clocán who lived in Ballydurrow about 100 years ago. At the match-making he wanted a large dowry which the bride's father could not afford. The latter was a proud man who did not want to disclose his lack of riches, so he pretended he could not part his daughter for another few years. Clocán was a witty man and he replied that if he got the money, he would give time for the wife. At a match-making when all matters were settled

ago. There were men and women who were professional match makers. If a boy wanted to get married he told the match-maker. The match maker and he went to the house of the girl and brought a bottle of whiskey, treated the father and mother of the girl, then told their business. The father and “match-maker” would then talk one what the boy had-if a farm how many cows it would feed. If he had a horse or donkey and so forth. The “match-maker” would ask the intended bride’s father what he would give his daughter as a dowry.
Sometimes there was money given as a dowry when the intended husband had a brother or sister in the house and he wanted to give a fortune to them and get them out of the home the money brought in by the bride was given to them.
Marriages used to take place long ago in country houses in the evening and then there was a feast and dance until

The usual time for marriages to take is a month or a few weeks before Lent. People do not usually get married on Shrove Tuesday. Saturday is supposed to be an unlucky day to get married.The local custom connected with Shrove is the making of pancakes, and the putting of a ring into the pancakes. There are no matches made in our district. Sometimes when people are getting married their friends or parents give them, say, a hundred pounds as dowry. I know a girl married about five or six years, and her parents gave her two hundred and fifty pounds dowry, but in our district the people usually call it a fortune.It is not usual for marriages to take place in the houses. The marriage feast is held in the bride’s home. When the feast is over the bride and bride-groom go away to some city or town to spend a holiday. I never heard tell of “straw boys,” visiting the house. A wedding procession is never held in our district.

that was known as the "out-going" Sunday. All the unmarried people who attended the wedding were arranged in couples and these marched behind the bride and groom on the first Sunday they attended Mass after the wedding. Then they returned to the house of the married couple and spent the evening there in jollification.
In olden times it was the custom among the farming class to give their daughters a dowry of money when they got married. This amount was often arranged by bargain before the wedding took place, In some cases cattle or value was given instead of money. It was said that the promised dowries were not given sometimes and this led to disputes between husbands and wives. In some cases the bride was refused admission to her husbands home unless she received the amount of dowry arranged.

on a pillion behind her husband and she wore a beautiful paisley shawl which was afterwards handed down to her children. In those days the friends who were arranging a match met at a fair or market and appointed a certain day to go to the girl's house where everything was discussed:- 1. The bride's dowry - money or cows were often given as dowry
2. How many were in the house and what claims they had on the husband and how those claims were to be settled
3. How far the shop and water was
The bride brought her own linen sheets, towels, bed, a featherbed, pillow, bolster, blanket and when she went into her new home her mother in-law presented her with a scissors and material to make a shirt and bauneen for her husband and if she was not able to make these things well she was held in disgrace so every good mother in those days taught her daughters to do these things

In olden times weddings were very interesting. It was customary to make matches and often men went miles away to get a suitor one that had a good dowry or a good fortune as they would call it. Horse-back was customary in our four-fathers time

girls was mentioned, and if anyone present knew of anything which was not to the credit of either the boy or the girl he was bound to mention it.
The girls father and friend visited the boy's home and walked the farm on the following Sunday, and the dowry was fixed on.
The Dowry is usually paid over on the morning of the wedding which in this place usually took place on a Sunday evening.
As far as I know the custom was for the Bridegroom and supporters to call for the bride at her home, and all would go to the church together.
After the marriage there came the drag-home. Side car after side car fully loaded and the driver on deck, and the going was hard till the home was reached. At least four side-cars would be in the drag-home. Someone usually played the melodeon and the passengers sang. The bride and bridegroom sat together on the first side-car and the brides-maid and best-man on the other side, with

Matchmaking is still common in this part of the country.The relatives of the prospective bride and groom meet at a fair or market. Over a few drinks they discuss the dowry of the bride and the land and stock of the groom. One of the bride´s relatives walks the said land and values it. Sometimes cattle are borrowed for a few days by the groom for this visitation.
When all arrangements are completed a day is named and preparations are made for a wedding feast at the bride´s house. It is scrubbed from top to bottom. New delph is got for the occasion. Whiskey and other drinks are procured. It is not considered lucky for bridegroom and bride to meet on the eve of the marriage. On the marriage morning they are not to meet until they meet in church.
Neighbours when going to the wedding feast always bring presents for the wedded pair. These are usually useful things for a house. The dowry of a bride was often paid in kind-cattle, sheep, churn, spinning wheel etc. Now it is always money.
It is not considered lucky for a bridesmaid to act as sponsor twice in a year, nor is it right for a brother and sister to marry within the same year. The bridegroom should not see the wedding dress until he sees it in church. A bride is not to visit her parents within one month after her marriage.

is also considered unlucky.
It used to be the custom for the boys and girls who were on the "look out" to dress up and go to the markets and local gathering during Shrove. The younger members were never allowed go about much until the elder ones were disposed of. Anyone who did not "get off" before Shrove was salted for next year. This custom has died out here now.
Matches are still made and money is almost always given as a dowry. It is considered lucky to give in a cow with the dowry.
Up to about forty years ago the people from Tavanagh in parish of Straide went the the chapel of Straid on horse-back to be married. Coming home they raced and whoever won got a quart of whiskey to divide.
They were always careful to admit the bride first to the house as it was considered unlucky for anyone to enter before her.

dowry stock or goods are not given. On wedding days when the people see the dragon coming, they light sheaves of straw and hang them on hay-forks. A wedding feast is held in the house of the married couple. Strawboys visit the house of the married couple playing music with fiddles, and melodeon. The strawboys does be dressed with old clothes and a shave of straw pulled down on their heads. They strawboys get a glass of whiskey from the married

Marriages most frequently take place before lent or on shrove Tuesday. The month of May is unlucky for marriages. Many local custom's are connected with shrove. Many matches are made in the district. Money is given as a dowry. Stock or goods are not given in my district now, but long ago stock used often be given. People do not remember marriages

Marriages most frequently take place during shrove May is supposed to be unlucky month for marriages. Many matches are made in my district. Money is very often given as a dowry. Stock and goods are often given. The man goes for his fortune money to the Brides house the night before he gets married. None of the

get married on Wedensdays and Sundays and no one used to get married on Tuesdays or Saturdays. They used to get married during Shrovetide. When they would get married the girl got a fortune or dowry. Sometimes the girl would get a cow or a calf instead of money.

The messenger has a bottle of whiskey to treat the girl's friend's. If the girl's is satisfied she tells the messenger so. Then the boy and girl decide to meet on a fair day in town. On that day the girl's parents talk about the dowry of the girl and boys. Then the girls people go and see if boy's house and land are suitable enough for her.

a bottle of whiskey to treat the girl's friends. If the girl gives consent to be married both parties decide to meet in town on a certain day and they discuss the girl's dowry and the boy's farm and stock. The girl appoints a certain day for the wedding. It is a custom for the bride to wear "Something old something new Something borrowed and something blue."On the night of the wedding it is usual