Long ago people used to say if you throw out the ashes or dust of the house on May Day you throw out your luck for the year. Others say if you sweep the chimney on May Day you will have smoke every day in the year. Long ago old women used to get up before sunrise, and wash their faces in the dew. They would not get sunburnt for the year. Women used to go out in a neighbour's field and take the clay of the cow's hoofs, bring it in make a cake of it, and when they would be churning, put it under the churn, and they would have their neighbour's butter. It is said that long ago on May Day old women

People put up May Pole on May Day on May Day for fear the fairies would come in. They put it over the doors and

to celebrate Easter Sunday by eating as many eggs as they could. May Day Young people used to get up very early before the sun would rise on May Day and wash their faces in the dew and let the sun dry it because it was a belief that if they did that that they would not get sunburned for that summer. Some people would not let out milk on May Day. Long ago they used to steal the butter from each other. They used to go on that day to the place where their neighbors cows used to pass in and out and they used to take a bit of the dirt from the cows back and keep that and they used to claim then that they would have that cows butter for the year, ad they used to quarrel about this. One neighbor accusing the other about having his butter.

On May Day people made the sign of the Cross with milk for good luck.

The people of long ago had superstitious day.
On New Year's day people welcome a dark haired boy to come to their homes to bring them good luck for the year.
On May day people very seldom give out milk or they very seldom put out ashes because every body says it is not right to give out milk or put out ashes on May day.
They used to make an altar on May day and they used to pull May flowers and put

If someone comes to your house for milk on May Day and if you begrudge it to them your cows will have no more milk or butter for that year but if you do not begrudge it you will have a lot of milk and butter for that year. On May Day if you milked your neighbours cow your cow would have the milk and butter of that cow for that year. The old people used to tie the May flowers round their cows horns so that their cows would have a lot of milk for that year. If you got up at six o'clock May morning and wash your face with the dew and dry it with the sun you would have good luck for that year. It is not right to let out any cow until after twelve o'clock on May Day because the fairies might steal them. If you put down a clutch of duck eggs in the middle of May Day you would have all ducks and if you put them down before the sun gets up or after it goes down you will have all drakes. If you cut your finger with a stone on May Day it will never get better. You will have bad luck for the year if you give away salt or a coal on May

and May Day. The children and old people have different customs. Long ago the people used have more customs. On the day before May Day the children gather a bunch of voilets, and before the household is thrown in the door - step for the Blessed Virgin to tramp upon. From that day the voilets begin to fade away. On May Eve long ago and in some houses yet, the people make a churning between sunset and sunrise. They used get an ash rod and make a gad out of it. They used

Do not put out the ashes on May-day because you will put out your luck.

4 It is said that it is not lucky to throw out anything on new years day such as water or ashes. On the day before the first of may you should gather may flowers and put them at every door belonging to the house. you should spill blood on St martin's day, because St. martins blood was spilt. On November night you should tie a red rag to the cows tails for fear any people would over look her.

such as a fiddler or a flutist attended and supplied music for the dancers. Another custom which was carried out was the following: -
If any man lost his spade or shovel or any other article to another individual he could not go and receive it back on May day as the country people considered it unlucky to give anything that was in the house to anyone on May day.None of those quaint old customs are now carried on and May day is carried out the same as any other day. The day which was celebrated with music and dance now passes by unnoticed.

Festival Customs
In Our District many feast are observed. On St Stephen's day boys and grown up men gather together and go in procession from house to house with decorated bushes singing the Wren song. Money is gathered, Sometimes they spent it on a dance in a neighbour's house and sometimes the spend it on drink. Important Festivals and St Brigid's day which fall on the first of February St Patrick's day on the 17th of March, Everyone wears badges in honour of St Patrick. He came to Ireland in the year 432. Good Friday Christ was Crusified. On the previous day Christ is carried in a procession through the Church. May day falls on the first of May. People gather May flowers and scatter them about the house. In Honour of the Blessed Virgin

Do not churn on May day. Throw Mayflowers outside your door May Eve and leave them there until May Day and it will keep away all illness until the next May Day. It is unlucky to marry on in May. If two of the same family get married in the one year except it be on the same day it is unlucky. Keep a lone shoe in the fire and it will bring good luck. When you see the new moon for the first time say a prayer and turn something in your pocket and you will have luck. It is unlucky to see the new moon for the first time through glass. It is unlucky to enter a doorway with a weapon

would not be let light it. If a person brought out a can with milk on it it is said he brings the butter with him. If a small piece of butter was put away on May day nothing would happen the butter until May day again it would want to be butter that was churned on May day. People supposed to take butter would try and borrow salt, and sweet milk from you on May day then they had your butter for the remainder of the year. If a can was brought to the lake and milk on it, if it was rinsed into the lake the fish would take the butter. It is also said you should not lend the graip out of the cow-house on May day because you would loose your butter.
There were people in this vicinity who used to milk their neighbours' cattle on May morning and by doing so were supposed to have their butter for that year. Here is a story which is current in this parish. A protestant man who for some reason or other was up very

bring good luck to the family during the year. The same custom, as that observed on New Year's Eve of cleaning out all the refuse, ashes, etc. from the dwelling house, is practised on this day. All dirty water etc. which would require to be thrown out on May day is emptied the previous evening so that there will not be any necessity to do so on May day. In the same way the out offices are cleaned out. All manure refuse, etc so as to avoid the necessity of doing so on May day, and run the risk of throwing away the luck of the household for the year.People do not like to give away milk or butter on May Eve or May day as they say the fairies may take both milk and butter from them for the year. Where people supply milk or butter to their neighbours, they usually send the necessary requirements on the evening before May Eve. If a cow is due to calve on May Eve

In olden times many customs were practised on May-day, most of these are gone now-a-days, but some are yet continued and practised. The evening previous to May-day some member of each household goes out into the fields and gathers a hugh quantity of May-flowers. In the towns some poor children go about selling flowers for a little money. On that night, they are scattered on the door-steps and on the window-sills, to welcome the first day of Summer. As the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, an altar is prepared in every Catholic home. It is decorated with flowers, and a small lighted lamp is placed before her statue.
Long ago it was customary not to put out the ashes, or sweep the floor on May-day. The old people never gave away milk, as they believed they would have no butter on the next churning. Many girls went out into a field at break of day and washed their faces in the dew, under a hawthorn tree. It was said that such people did not get sun-burned during the following Summer. Other customs practised were, the placing of a branch of the mountain-ash in a manure heap in order to protect the cows, and the placing of a "griosach" under a churn so that the

Marry in May you'll rue the day.

It is considered unlucky for a woman to come into your house first on New Years Day. It is an old custom not to throw out ashes on that day, or on May Day, or for a woman to come out on the road before you, or to give away anything out of the house on May Day. It is supposed if you pay out money on "Hansol Monday" that is the first Monday of the New Year, you will have ill luck on all your undertakings for the year. No one, only a member of the family, would be allowed to milk cows on the 1st May. It was the belief that if anybody else milked there would not be any butter got on the milk for the year.

It is a custom on May day to bring in a green branch in the morning before sunriseThere is a holy well near Castletown and people go there paying rounds on May Eve and also on May day morning. About 30 years ago crowds of people used go there but now the custom is dying out.The old people would not like to give milk away on May day. They do not make a churn. If there is a churn to be made it is the custom to make it on May Eve or they do not sell butter on May Day.They used not like to have a cow calf on May Day. Once upon a time a cow calfed on May Day, the old people did not like it at all they were always talking about it. On the following May day the calf died.Siobhan Ní Murachacha

Fuaireas an sgeul ó mo mathair Maighread Bean Ní Murchadha, Cathair Cuim, Beara.

If you put your shoe up on the table you would have bad luck. To strike a person with a brush foretells bad luck for seven years. Sunday is a lucky day for to apply remedies for ailments. The first person the cat looks at after washing his face is supposed to be the first to die. Marry in May and you will rue the day. It is unlucky to lend things on May day.