Saturday, April 17, 2021

Folk beliefs in rural Ireland

 The following was collected by myself in the 1990s from the Egan family of Dunmore, County Galway. 

When you go into a house, always go out the same door. 

To hear a hen crow is a sign of death.

If the weather at Candlemas (2  February) is fair there will be two winters in the year.

If you went into a house and they were churning you always had to give a hand with the churning or else there would  be no butter.

Men never liked to meet a lady with red hair going to a fair as they considered  it would  he bad luck and they would get a bad price for their stock. 

On bonfire night/ St John's Night 23 June you always took a coal from it and put it in the corn field for good crops.

If a person held a grudge against another farmer  he would put them eggs into his field  or cock of hay and it would  bring  bad luck to the farmer. 

At funerals the corpse  would always be brought  the old road even though the new road is much shorter.  

Never give milk away on May Day.