will be the first to die.St. Patrick's DayThe people used to go out with the band on St. Patrick's Day. They used to hold National Land League meetings in this day.Ash WednesdayOn Seraft Tuesday night the people used to have bacon. They used to make pan cakes on this day also. It is called Pancake Tuesday for this reason. Ashes should not be put out on Ash Wednesday.HalloweenThe people have apples on Halloween. They hang up one at a time out of the loft with a piece of string. Then they try to catch it in their mouths. They also get a tub of water and put in one apple at a time. They then try to catch it in their mouths. Whatever person catches the apple wins it.St. John's EveOn St. John's Eve, the people make bonfires in honour of St. John. They gather sticks and hay and rushes. The fires are made on the hills. Some people make a fire out of turf and sticks. All the young people dance, cheer and sing around the bonfires.

Tere is a plant called Foghrom which grows on the ditches. This plant is used for drawing poison out of sores or boils. There is another plant called Wild Sage. This plant is a cure for a hurt or a sprain. If a person had a bad tootache and put a frog under the tooth it is believed that he would never again get a toothache. There is a cure for whooping cough in the milk that is touched by a ferret's tongue. There is a tomb in Rosscarbery called St John's tomb. Many people from all parts of the district who have certain diseases visit this tomb every year on St John's Eve which is on the 23rd of July. Long ago many people were cured at this tomb after making a certain number of rounds and saying certain prayers.

I am now going to describe a holy well called Loughteen's Well. There is a legend connected with it. It was in the parish of Donoughmore about a quarter of a mile to the west of Donoughmore cross. One night as a regiment of soldiers was passing the well they disrespected it in some way, the people of the parish were very much surprised the following morning when they saw that the well had moved away during the night and there was a hood out over it and that too moved with it. It just went outside the boundary of the parish into Grenaugh so the people still keep up the old custom of paying rounds on St John's day, St John's Eve and the following Sunday.

in the sky. St. John's Eve Bonfires are lit in honour of St. John, Patron Saint of Kilone, my parish. St. Peter and Paul's Day. People visit St. John's Well to do "rounds" as this is 'pattern' day in my parish. St Swithin's Day (15th July) If this day is misty it is supposed to be raining for forty days afterwards. So people pay great attention to the weather on that day. Michaelmas (29th Sept.) People spill the blood of a goose in honour of St Michael. November's Eve It is supposed that the deceased members of each family come back among the rafters to know who says a prayer for them. Children have great fun on this night. St Martins Day (11th Nov.) The blood of three birds is drawn, some of which is kept on a piece of wool and is supposed to be a cure for ailments. Christmas "Bloc na Nodlag" is put behind the fire

St. John's well is situated on Knockaulinn. It is said anyone who goes there, on St. John's Eve and dips his face into the water, shall never get a disease.Patey Dix

1. On St John's Day long ago the old people used to say Seven Rosarys to St John to bring a blessing down on the family.
2. On the eve of St John's Day bonfires are lighted on the tops of high hills. All the people go to the nearest bonfire, and they sing and dance till the fire burns down.

inserted a Baptismal font of Kilkenny marble.
St. John's well. St John's well called St John the Baptist well has been for centuries the most famous holy well in the Diocese. In former times it was frequented by people on St. John's Eve for devotional purpose on 20th of June and a pattern was held. Abuses crept in and in 1761 the pattern was stopped but still the pilgrimage continued.

St John's Eve.
St. John's Eve occurs on the 23rd June. On that night "bon-fires" blaze all over Ireland. These are generally built at a cross-roads or in the middle of a village on a height. The turf is procured in the neighbouring bogs or each neighbour fives a bagful. A huge bone is placed in the middle of the fire and as the flames ascend the shouts and laughter of the people can be heard for miles around.The villagers sit around the fire for a couple of hours and tell stories and sometimes sing songs and amuse themselves for a couple of hours. Often too they have a little feast consisting of fresh milk, milked from the cows in the neighbouring fields and loaf bread bought in the nearby shops.When the feast is over the people go in procession around the fire and recite the rosary. When time to go home each one takes a "live" sod and throws it into his own fields so that his crops may be successful during the year. Others carry the sod or live coal to the byre and pass it under and over the cattle's bodies. This action they believe protects the cattle from sickness.

ringing the water out of them then the starch will remain on the bottom. The old people used to throw the coals that were burned in the fire on St. John - eve, in the potato fields, it is said that this leaves a better crop.

St martin's Day or Night occurs nine nights after hallow Eve and a night without counting. A goose or other fowl should be killed sometime within abovementioned dates. The blood was to be sprinkled on the four corners of the house.
St John's Eve Bonfires are lighted on the roadside on St John's Eve. Long ago musicians brought their instruments and the Young people danced on the roadside near the bonfire. A collection was made and provisions were brought and all had some refreshment. When the fire was dying some of the quenched coals were carried home by those present. These coals were thrown into the tillage field and were supposed to bring luck to the crops.
Little Christmas Night - or Twelfth Night.
A cake of daub was made and into it were stuck as many rush candles as there were members in the family. These were greased and lighted. Each member of the family selected his own candle. The person whose candle burned out first expected to be the first member of the family to die - and he whose candle lived longest was confident of living longest. The cake was not thrown out. It was put in a box and kept.

also have great feast on Easter Sunday.Whit Sunday
It is unlucky to go near water on Whit Sunday because it has been noticed that a great number of people get drowned at that particular time.St. John's Eve
St John's Eve is on the 23rd of June. It is an old pagan custom for the people to light a bon-fire on that night. This bon-fire consisted of bones and sticks.

On the eve of St. John's day bonfires were and are still lighted. The practice of bringing a coal away has however been discontinued.

Long ago people had different things for every feast day. On Saint John's Eve people have a bonfire in every village they gather sticks and a cart of turf. On Easter Sunday people eat a lot of eggs on that day. It was said long ago that people should not lend any thing on May day. People do not eat blackberries on that day because it's said the devil spits on them. On St. Stephen's day

There are many Festival in Ireland. Other Countries have not the same Festivals as we have. The ones celebrated in Ireland are Saint Patrick's Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, St John's Eve, and Saint Saint Stephens Day. On Christmas Eve night candles are lighted and left on the windows of the House. On Saint Stephens Day Boys dress up in

keep some of the potatoes without planting until Good Friday. It was also the custom to dig new potatoes on St. John's Eve. It was an old saying that March borrowed three days from April and if the old cows put that bad weather over them, they would live for the rest of the year.

FESTIVAL CUSTOMS:
ST. JOHN’S EVE.On St. John’s Eve bonfires are lighted on the hillsides.Long ago tar barrels were lighted in the villages and towns and kept lighting all night.Boys and girls used to stand around them singing.A furze bush on fire used to be thrown into the midst of the cattle to bring luck.

St Johns eve falls on the 23rd day of June. People do many a thing on that night which is supposed to keep ill luck from them throughout the year. They throw a lighting bush after every one of the cows which is supposed to keep them from harm. The people here go to the holy well in Glenville to pray in honour of Saint John. Also in every farm

places grown up men gather together and go in procession from house to house, with bushes of holly, singing the wren song. they gather money "to bury the wren". They are called the wren boys. They sing and dance in each house. On St Patrick's day the people wear shamrock. On chalk boys and girls who are not already married get a rub of chalk on the back. On the eve of St John's

called it the wetting of the Shamrock. On St John's eve a bonfire is lighted and left there until it quenches. On St Stephen's day the young people go from house to house gathering money, and they have a dead wren on a holly bush.

before May Day, St. John's Eve, and Michaelmas Eve.Disabled or crippled people or the blind must bathe in the waters of the well. A long time ago a great miracle happened there one St. John Eve. Three disabled boys came to the well with three pairs of crutches. After paying their rounds they went into the well and bathed in it and they were immediately cured. They left their crutches after them.This is how they perform the rounds there (a) They say two rosaries around a clump of trees (b) they say three rosaries around the well and after each rosary they kneel down and ask their request. (c) They finish up praying at the altar stone.There are three stones there shaped like hearts and they are supposed to sweat or perspire at certain periods and when people rub their fingers to them and then rub the perspiration to the sores they are immediately cured.