Armachiana Volume 12

ARNAGH MISCELLANEA VOL.XII Folklife

Introductory

1-8

Our Pagan Background

9-24

Navan Rath Traditions

25-32

St. Patrick

33-49

Local Traditions of Historical Events

50-65

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs

66-84

Greetings

85-88

Luck, Ill Luck and Good Luck

89-92

Local Descrip(ive Sayings

93-97

Cures and Charms

98-103

Marriage Customs

104-11 3

Funeral Customs

114-122

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks

123-131

Horse Racing

132-135

Turf Cutting

136-139

Windmills

140-143

Bird Traditions

144-149

Local Pastimes

150-160

Festivals

1 61

2.

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA V0L.XII

Folklife New Year's Day

Pages 161-162

St. Stephen's Day

163-165

Twelfth Day

165

St. Brigid's Eve & Day

166-169

March 25th

170

All Fools Day

171

Easter

172

Shrove Tuesday

173

Mid-Summer Eve

174-177

Bonfire Night (July 1st)

178-179

Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

.180-182

Feast of St. John

183

Harvest Customs

184-204

Christmas Rhymers

205-216

Halloween Customs

217-223

May Eve Customs

224-228

August 15th

229

St. Patrick's ~ay

230

·"

Armachiana Volume 12 The contents of this digital resource is openly licensed via Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC 4.0 enabling reusers to copy and distribute the material for noncommercial purposes and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

If any of the material is reproduced, in any form and in any medium, Armagh County Museum should be acknowledged as the source and the reference below cited.

Armachiana Vol1 (Armagh County Museum ARMCM.28.2014.41)

The cont ents of these volumes l a belled Armachiana

are simply notes for t alks to

local and visiting societies in search of

material relating to it s historical background and ancient monuments .

They a re not of any

great i mportance but may provide a gui de to students seeking da t a on the county g enerally or on their own distri ct s i n particular .

TGF Paterson

t.

COUNTY ARMAGH MISCELLANEA. These few notes on County Armaghtraditionary beliefs were

chiefly taken down circa 1934 whilst working on the Preliminary Survey of Ancient Monuments of Northern Ireland, a work published in 1940.

They form part of a collection of Folk Tales of varied interest, some of which will be printed in succeeding issues.

This selection deais with ill luck following the destruction of or interference with forts or other landmarks, such as prehistoric burial places, and the still much venerated fairy thorns.

The first reference to a taboo of interference with earthworks that I learned of occurred in 1927 when on a visit to Lislea I was told that a fort in that town.land "had been broken up by the previous owners and their cows had died upon them and they lost the farm 11 •

Two years

later I heard that an earlier owner of Rathconvil fort "had tampered with the enclosure and forfeited his life, and that another man had sawn off a branch of a fairy thorn therein and lost an arm by septic poisoning

· In the same year a

similar story was told me at Lissummon, a fort which had at some period b~en divided by a thorn fence, a continuation of a march dit eh between ,two farms.

The fort itself had not

2.

then been meddled with otherwise.

Later, however, the

"Finch family destroyed their half and had wretched lµck afterwards 11 •

Such tales are legion, but I shall only

quote four other examples.

1. Balteagh.

again.

11

The fort was broken up but it was soon mended

A cow and · a calf died so they put back the soil. 11

2. Ballinagalliagh.

(1)

.

11

1 cut the last fairy thorn on the

fort and I lost my wife and son shortly after.

I should

have knowed better for James McArdle who owned it before me cut one down and was no time alive. 11

3. Drum.boy. "They were goin' to break up the forth in the days of my forebears, _but when the horses and plough were upon it a slice of bread was thrown in front of them.

It

was a strange thing till happen an' they were bothered.

A wise woman said it was an omen that if the place was left

alone _tbe Nugents wud niver want for bread. we niver did even in the Famine time. 11 <2 )

An I thank God

(1) A fine example of a double-ringed enclosure.

(2) 11When I was young I remember hearing of the Famine, but its little I mind of it now •..•• The way it was in our house must not have been bad or I would have thoughts of it in me head still. 11 Taken down from Mrs. Brigid Quinn of Glassdrummond drummond near the village of Ball's Mill when I last saw her on 28 Nov. 1939.

Born 1836, died 1941, aged 105 years.

3.

The earthwork in question commands an extensive prospect and is famous locally because of a ballad of 26 verses WTitten in its honour by a man 11 who travel3:ed the . county over and niver had the fire of poetry lighted in his heart until he saw the view from Drumboy. 11

l+. Cashel. "Sure it was in oul' McParlin's time it was done, an' the countryside was afeared for him, but nothin' happened.

An' he had the finest corn ye iver saw.

An'

from far an' near they come till see an' wonder at it.

The headswur as long as yer arm an' reachin' far above the walls of the Relig. (3) An' it ripened. himself an' some others wur there.

An' one evenin'

An' he says, says he,

"I 1 11 cut eome the morrow if help can be got 11 •

An' they

wo were w.i.th him promised till give a han 1 •

But in the

mornin' when they got there sure it was bare as yer fist deil the corn or anything, not even a stubble.

An' it

11 give them such a fright they ni ver tried t t again.

In earlier days like stories extended· to prehistoric burial places in the county as well.

Many instances of

(3) This stone walled monument gave name to the townland and :is now better known as the 11 Relig 11 , the latter terminology deriving from the fact that unbaptized children and Suicides were at one time buried within it. \

4. the ill-luck attending the removal of stones from such places are still extant.

Space, however, will only

allow me to mention a few of them. is a circular patch known as The

In Cladybeg there Green Height".

The

story goes that stones were moved from it by the Synnots 'When they built Ballymoyer.

The earn, however, was. not

on their property but on land belonging to Lord Charlemont, 'Who gave permission for their removal and 11 it turned out unlucky for both of them 11 • (l+)

11

Bonfires were lighted at

it in the oul' days on Midsummer's Eve an' there would be music an' dancin' . 11

This particular story was told to me

in 1931 by Daniel Rocks, then aged 85 years who informed me that he actually remembered such fires being lighted annually on the hill but that the custom had ceased over 50 years ago.

The same tradition is attached to a chambered grave at Clonlum, situate on land that formerly belonged to the Foxhall family.

Stones from it. are said to have been

used with disastrous results to the family in the building of Killevy Castle.(5)

A like story is attached to a

(4) Neither the Synnots or the Caulfeilds are now represented in the county.

(5) The family suffered financial distress in 1816 due to the failure of the Newry Bank.

;.

6

grave of the same type at Ballinteggart, ( )and at Ballymacdermot on land owned by the Seaver family.(?)

One of the most common obj:ects in our countryside is the "Lone Bush", better known perhaps as the "Fairy Thorn" or "Gentry Bush 11 , still a familiar feature in our landscape.

The undernoted stories illustrate the lore

of the isolated thorn tree and the reasons for its protection. ver cut a thorn bush when the haws are upon it.

Never I mind as a youngster bein' toul' that.

In them days

there'd be notbin' but fairy tales at the fireside divil a hate else. then.

There wur all kind of witcheries

But gentry bushes wur different.

be cut at all, not iver.

They shouldn't

I mind a man taking one down

an' it only a crabbed bit of a thi~g.

He cut it an' tuk

a pain in his jaw an' soon he bed a face, the like of which wasn't fit for a Christian at a11:

It killed him.

(6) In the closing years of the. 17th century a house was largely built from this cairn by the Bolton family, in which the famous Dean Swift was occasionally a guest, whilst staying with the Achesons at Markethill - a family Ballinnow represented by the present Earl of Gosf'ord. teggart had formerly belonged to the Sacheveralls, to whom it had been granted at the Plantation by King James I. Old people still speak of the place as Bolton's Folly.

(7) In 1815 Jonathan Seaver of Heath Hall, Co. Armagh, assisted by John Bell. a well-known antiquarian of those days, excavated an in£eresting forecourted chambered grave Both of in the above townland, on the family property. them a:t'terwards met w1 th misfortune. ·

6.

An' I mind some that grew on a fort. an' his wife cut them.

Oul Terence

She wus the worst - but

she wus soon in bed an' she niver riz from it, an' he tuk a pain in his leg an' fut an' lay for six months!

Jesus is my judge but I wus once fixin' a house an'

•

there wus a fairy thorn in the middle of the street.

Ernie---- wud niver do more than trim it but his brother John wud hev it cut. for me".

11

Said he to me 11 ye 1 ll cut that bush

Not if ye give me £20 11 , says I.

11

Will ye

len' me yer saw'* says he. · 11 The divil a bit if I will 11 says I.

But he got a saw anyhow an' look at the fix be

got into before he died.

Take my advice an' leave the

fairy thorns alonett.

'Me brother-in-law, ✓ him that was caretaker to oul'

1

Stitt of Newtown (8)Jh~d a venture once with the wee people.

Sure the cattle were breakin' somethin' awful, an' trampin' down the crops beyond .anything.

An' he, poor man, wus

fair bothered with them an' -with cuttin' branches all over the place to stop their capers.

He wus out with the bill-book for the best of a day, an' at long last, he wus so bate, he said to himself, said

(8) Newtownhamilton, a village in the to-wnland of Tullyvallen valleni Shea Fina - the fairy white hill - the reputed site or the palace of Lir, lies one mile west.

7.

he, "I'll lop a branch or mebbe two from the · oul' thorn they'll never be missed 11 •

But the very first chop he

give there was a tarrable moan. but there wus nobody near.

He looked iverywbere

An' he thought he'd be safe

in broad daylight, so he hacked it again, an' out come

An' he wus fair tuk

the billy-hook smothered in blud. with fright at what he did.

So back he put the branch

an' boun' it up with splinters. was as well as iver.

An' in a day or two it

It wus the great mercy he didn't

cut it off. 11 "Gentry bushes always had a pad round them and there was always a traffic about them.

at times.

A man ne·~

It was there they talked

here once took a branch from one

till stop a gap and in the mornin' his only cow was dead in it.u Having considered the effects of taking liberties with forts, cairns, · and lone thorns, it may prove of interest to your readers to know that in 1934 in the townland of Fergort -I was shown a bouse in which I was informed an old lady lived who 1.

Salted the cow at calving.

2.

Had a three pronged fork held up during the birth.

3. · Never went into the byre without a straw or two because she deemed it unlucky to do so.

8.

4.

And always milked the first squirts on the floor because of the wee people.

Unfortunately she refused to be interviewed by a 11

strange man 11 and eftectively banished me by closing the

door. , Her neighbours, however, were more forthcoming and in discussion I found that "It was lucky to meet the first lamb of the season 9 with its face 11 toasth ie, and very nunchancy"(lO)till part with a dog or cat that comes till ye of its own free will 11 , and was warned 11 niver till chase that kind of stray awar_f.r.om ine, in case my luck might well go with it. II I was also assured a goat should always be kept with the cows to ensure calves.

Having expressed the feeling that

a bull would surely also be necessary I was taken to task for levity.

( 9)

Towards.

(10) Used as above simply means unlucky but the word can in some instances mean "doubtful 11 •

ARhAGH EI SQ4,LANL

Our Pa~an Background, In the Slieve Gullion district the inhabitants have many stories to relate of the mythical Calliagh Bhirra whose adventures with Finn are still a source of gossip around that romantic countryside, which they al.so associate with Gulan the Smith and Setanta whose fight with Culan's hound resulted in him acquiring the name of Cuchullain, by which he is even more intimately linked with the great earthwork of fil::nain Macha on the western outskirts of Armagh where stories of its foundress are still recounted.

Other sites of like interest include

Shee Fina the fairy White Hill on the west of the village of Newtownhamilton, the site of the Palace of Lir, the tragedy of whose· ~hildren forms one of the great sorrows of Irish story-telling.

It's very ~entle country, "It's very gentle country all aroun' here, but I have been to the other side of Slieve Gullion where they had ~iants

and witches as well.

Finn Mccool?•

Did ye iver hear of

W~ll, there's some say it wus he an• not

the Calley Berry who threw the White Stone.Cl) (l)

But

A stand1ni stone ih the Dorsey entrenchment formerly whitewashed each sprini.

Our Pagan Background (cont.) sure they both mebbe had a han' in it, for they wur both upon the earth togither.

An' if he wus fleet of fut

an' strong of limbs she wus strong in spells.

Do ye

know her house on the mountain an' the lake beside it.

Shure it was into that very lake( 2 )she coaxed fool Finn.

An' in he went fresh an' youthful an' out he come a done oul' man.

An' they bad a high time making him right

again.

Often I started up ~he mountain to see the lake but I cud never head the whole road, I wus so afeared, for ye know a weddin' party went into ye Galley Berry's once,

an' they were turned till stone.

Her house goes down

an' dow an' in the bottom chamber sits the Gally Berry herself till this very day. of time.

Ay an' will till the end

But where Finn is I know not, or if I do I

dis remember. u

F;i,nn wusn' t much of a man at all, 11

Finn, I may tell ye, Wt1sn 1 t the only pebble on the

beach in the early days.

An• if all ye hear is true,

but then it's not - for half the truth is downright lies when it comes till giants an' sich like - well then Finn (2) This is the local name for the great earn on the summit of the mountain.

').

"·

Our Pa~an Back~round Ccont.) wsn 1 t half the man some people think. much of a man at all!

Indeed he wusn't

Shure there's not a sowl from

here till Newry that doesn't know that Finn hid in a cradle once rather than take he's batin' like a man.

An' for days before he had been struttin' the. mountain as proud as a pay cock, pretendin I he was blue moulded for the want of a fight.

An' this is the way of it.

Finn wus on the hill

above when he saw a giant the spit of himself but a far bigger man restin' tween the two oul' teeth on Carrick An' he didn't like . the look of him at all, at

beyant.

So he in till his wife an' says he, "I'll be

all.

murdered completely if tl:ion fella sees me. 11 she,

11

uFinn, 11 says

leave it ti.11 me, 11 an' with that she · makes a cradle

of sorts.

An' then she had a look over till Carrick

herself an' there vrus the other one footin' it over.

Says she

troth an' she got a fright at the size of him. till herself,

11

An'

! 1 ve mebbe bit off more than I 1 11 chew, 11 says

she, "but what's till be,.. will be," says she.

me best an I I can't do more. n

11

I 1 ve done

An' before ye'd say uGod

save ye, 11 the other fellow wus with her.

11

sel.t'?"

Good morrow, me woman, 11 says he, "an' where is he's

Our Pa~an Background (cont.)

11

0ch, 11 says she,

11

he's jist stepped out this minit

for a walk till the Kerry mountains, but it's back he'll be in a little;• says she .

11

.An' with that he spied the cradle.

llArJ I

what

have we here? 11 says he.

11

0ch, 11 says she,

11

that I s our youngest chile, but

as ye can see for yourself he is but an ill•thriven brat. 11 11

Shure, 11 says she,

11

me ouldest one's worth lookin' at, but

it's out with he's father he is."

An 1 that wus enough for the other fella.

11

Says he,

1 1 ll call again some other day, for I can I t be wai tin'

no longer now. 11

An' he ups an' away an' off he _goes

over mountain an• bog but divil the back he iver come till Slew Gullion.

An' that's Finn for ye!

An' shure the men are the

same till this blessed day - always blowin' and blastin' • 11

SB eve Gullion, "Shure they did say, the oul' people of long ago, that Finn ws goin' up the mountain be the lake, when he saw a lady lyin'. on her side lookin' sad an' sorraful.

An' he said, says he, "What's the bother? 11 11

0ch, 11 says she,

11

shure it's me ring I 1 ve lost.u

Our fA~an Back~round Ccont.)

Then, says he,

11

Don' t worry, I 111 get it if I can. 11

An' in he went but when he reached the bank again, shure he wus oul' an' grey.

.An' his huntsmen come up an'

sorra· a bit of them cud know him, he wus that changed.

An' the lady, she wus the Gally Berry,~' she run away · ·an' what happened after that I do forgit.

Indeed it's little I know of the sa:ne Gally Berry, but many a time when the mist wud be on the mountain above, I he~red the oul I people say till me mother,

has a male in her pot the day. 11

11

The Gally

An' indeed I often

.wondered what it might be she wus boilin'.

· Many a night

I lay awake thi:okin' of it.

Shure it's the great mountain. on top one day.

Swarmin 1 all over it they wur.

black with them iverywhere. but I got none.

The whole world wus It wus

They had tay on the mountain

TI:iem that comed from Dublin had all sorts

of refreshments, ay, oranges an' iverything.

You'd niver

beiieve there wus such a gra' for our oul' ·mountain.

Some

had bags with sweetbreads in them an' other things too.

Some come be the ch3pel, an' some be fut, an' some be cars.

An' a whole lot come this way an' more got out at Kinney's.

Me brother went up that day an' he wus bad with the toothache besides being lame like me. he wept.

But he cud go an'

An' be went till the lake for the cure.

Our Pagan Background (cont.)

"Troth an' I'll go, 11 says he; way• ll

11

should I die be the

An' -when he returned, says .he,

11

1 'm cured an'

sound.u "Thank God, 11 said me mother, "we'll be done with •

the pain, an' mebbe the laziness will leave ye as well. 1111

And Finn was Cock of Slew Gullion again.

"Finn was on the mountain with he's wife, which of them I won't be sayin', for they do tell he had more than one.

An' he wus sore put about when he heared

that the Scotchman wus comin' an' he jist after a wakeness of sorts an' stillshaky on his pegs. had her wits about her.

11

He's wife though,

Fii:m, ll says she, "lie ye

there quiet like an' trust till me. u 11

"Och woman, 11 says he, 11

1 'm a done man. 11

Bedad an' yer not, 11 says she, lldidn't I rescue you

from the Gally Berry herself? 11 noch, houl I yer toniue, woman. yer blethers, 11 said he. did that?

11

11

Ye• 11 dave me with

Shure it wus me sworn comrades

I tell ye, wo~an, I'm a gonner: 11

Go long ye great big boo1?y, 11 says she.

11

Who wus

well ye cudn 1 t keep it sent them after ye, knowin' fu11 r

out 0£ mischief yer lone?u

-s. \S.

Our Pagan Background Ccont.)

11

.An I Finn, ·we:kl ·knowin' that a woman wud have the last

word, let it go at that.

An' all wus peace and quietness

when the Scotchie arrived.

An' the good woman wus all

smiles an' politeness an' sweet as ye like, an' her jist havin' the cross word with Finn the minit before.

II_An', 11 says he, is himself at home? 11 11

No/ 1 says she,

11

but sit ye down till he comes in.

An' then, 11 she says, says she,

11

will ye be after excusin'

me if I go on with me bakin', for himself will be fit till ate the house wnen he comes back. 11

An' if Finn the divil, didn't move in the bed just then!

11

Ah, 11 says the Scotchie, says he,

11

wbat have we here?"

"Why that is our baby, 11 says she.

11

It 1 s_ a divil of a fine baby," says he, while till

himself, he says,

11

If that's the chile -v.ipat must the father

An' he wud have been off again

be like at all, at a.11. 11

till Scotland as fast as his legs wud carry him, only that

herself hadn't finished with him.

Says she, ''Ye'll stay for some tay. u Says he,

! cudn' t. u

11

"Och now, 11 says she,

11

ye must, for if Finn returned

this night an' foun' I had offered ye neither bit or sup,

Our Pa~an Tuck~round (cont,) it 1 s meself wud git a tongueing.

An 1 with the baby

teething, it 1 s troubles enough I have.

Shurely ye'll

Stay? 11

An'· Scottie sat himself down to a beaut:i,,ful cake

with a griddle in the middle of it, for she wus the cunnin' one.

An' poor Scottie, rather than hurt her

feelings, ate it up, though, indeed, the griddle played

aul' N"ick with he's teeth an' worse with his innards.

An' when he had finished, says he,

11

Cud I have a drink

till drown me thirst like? 11

.lui' says she, ttTill be sbure, ye see the wee lake below ye? 11 Ant he says' ur do. II

"Well, 11 she says, says she, nthat' s where himself drinks .when the thirst is upon him.

Shure there's ni ver

a ve-ssel I have large enough till fill the belly of him, 11 says

sbe.

An 1 I forgot till tell ye that she bad hundreds of

bundles of ~Jee sticks all dried an' ready agin the winter fires, an' she had the sarvents drop them in till the lake, an 1 they wur mad for they didn't want till have to iather more when it wus buntin 1 they might be.

An' poo~ oul' chappie he off till the lake.

The

~-

17, Our Pagan Back~rounq {cont.) tears wur coorsing down he's cheeks because of the salt cake he'd ate, an' the bits of the griddle wur hurtin' cruel.

.An' the man wus in a disperate state altogither.

An' he drunk an' he drunk till he wus fit till burst an' filled himself full of wee sticks. till he's self,

11

An I then he says

If Finn comes back I'm done for . 11

.An' a tarrable wakeness come upon him, but he only got a sleepyness he niver got over, so he laid himself down an' there he lies till this very day.

A..~' while he slept, the griddle caused trouble in

th~ insides of him.

A.n. 1 he not being able till digest

it, it set up a quarrel -wi.th the sticks, an' between them they destroyed him entirely.

That wus what Finn I s -wi.fe planned an.' Finn wus cock of Slew Gullion .again! 11

F1:gn 1 s Fine-er stones.

"Finn wus playin' on the mountain when he threw them.

An' the little stone at the side of the big one is a part that broke off in he's ban' when be wus thro-wi.n' the 0ther.

He wus so annoyed he threw the wee bit a~ter it, an 1 • that's no word of a lie, for indeed it did happen.

Shure the

comrades of it are on the mountain above.

He tuk it be

a boult 1 tween his finger an' thumb, an' that wus the way

he sent it.

Our Pagan Background {cont.)

Vnn mat a 4ra~on once,

" "Finn met a dragon once.

a mountain.

It ws nearly as big as

But he had all his men with him an' wusn't

a bit afeared so he give it battle.

The head of it ws

nearly as big as Sturgab~)it; said, an' the mouth of it wus gaping open an' full of teeth the size of trees.

An' the tail of it wus high in the air - nearly out of

sight it wus.

An' with it, it cud lrnock a cow or a man

over as aisy as ye like.

But it wus no match for Finn

an' his band though it swallowed them everyone.

Finn

bedad, mad~_an opening in the belly of it, with his sword an'

out he bopped an' ivery man-jack after him.

An'

the brute wus that put about it lay down an' died.

Finn

killed that one in Grunlough but sure there wur lots of them in them days. 11 Lislea.

Finn wus near Armagh, "Finn wus near Armagh one day, when he saw a Scotch giant an 1 he wu_s that ~annoyed, he after him. other fella wus the faster on he's pins.

C3)

But the

An' Finn wus

A summit near Lislea Chapel locally called the

"Sugar Loaf 11 because of its resemblance to the mountain so called in Co. Wicklow.

Our Pagan Background Ccont,) sore afeared he'd git away an' swim back before he'd get a grip on him, so he threw sods as big as hills at him.

An' in he's hurry he filled both he 's ban's with

acres of lan' an' let him have it.

But it went right

over him an' dropped in the say, an ' it's still there till this very day.

An. 1 it's called the island of Man

bee?ause it i<ms made be a man ' s throw.

A.n' the place

he tore the earth out of is now Lough Neagh.

An' if

ye put the island back ye'd be surprised the way it wud fit. 11 Fisherman, Lough Neagh.

The lake is haunted ri~ht enou~. uThe oul 1 lakets( 4)haunted ri~ht enough. ye want to bathe in it anyhow for? ye could try.

What

What do

There's other places

Sure ye lmow the bother Finn got into.

chance would a mortal have when Finn that was near

a God was so badly·used. 11 Drumintee.

The QaJljaim•s Grave.

"Two people drealllt of a crock of gold in it one

(4)

This refers to the old volcanic neck of Slieve Gullien now a lake on the summit between the northern and southern cairns.

~

...

'20 .

Our Pagan Backfround Ccont.)

It wus hidden in the

night, but they niver got it.

Calliagh' s Grave(5)an' they saw it plain. they niver got it.

But indeed

They wur struck bline but whether

they wur dark iver after or only struck bline by a light I do forget.

I only heared it from the oul' people.

They knowed all about it .

.An' indeed the Calliagh's buried there right enough.

T'De thing on the mountain wus only her house.

It had

five rooms in it at one time but there is only one now it wus the parlour in her days. are now I won•t be saying.

Where the other rooms

The Calliagh may be there

still for indeed there's lots of people have gran ' stories of her capers -with Finn.

Indeed her oul' lake has divil a bottom in it at all, at all.

Wby is ye wus to throw in a stick on Sunday

afternoon as many a one has, ye•d find it floating on Carnly Lough in the mornin'. this I can tell ye.

It is the quare ancient countryside Ye 1 d hardly believe the things that

happened here •11 Dromintee.

(Taken down from an old woman on Dromintee loaning).

C5)

A prehistoric passage grave on the southern summit

Slieve Gullion, excavated in 1961 by Mr. A.E.P. Collins.

Qf

~2I•

Our Pa~an Back~round Ccont.)

The Hoyry Cat, "He wus an oult one an t there wus witchery of some sort in hi, for he wus of an age with the hills.

He wus

here in Finn's time and for hundreds an ' hundreds of years after - he mebbe belonged till the Calliagh in the beginning.

Bu.t there cum a time when they cud do notbin 1 with him - he ·wd jist do as he wanted.

An'° he wud kill men

ant animals alike when the temper wus upon him an' be all accounts he wus often that way.

An 1 he ruled

~l the cats of Ireland an' one day

made a plot with them t:i.11 put an' end till the men of' Orior.

But the secret laked out an' a party set out till

kill or be killed by him.

.An. 1 the leader had a sword

with a charm in it an' it wus he had the luck till slice the head off him.

A,nt

as the head fell down all bludy

it said till him - "when ye go home tell yer kitlin' what ye have done till me 11 •

. !n' when he went home he did so

an' the kitlin' iepped at bets throat an' tore it out an' be died.

.An' his friens killed the kitlin' an' there

wus no trouble after. grandfather. things.

I heared the story often from me

He's the one cud have toult ye lots of

It w.s he wus bright of himself till the last."

Carrickbroad.

Our Pa~an Back~round Ccont.)

The Black Pig Rose in the Valley. uThe black l)ig rose in the valley

(6)

and run from

there through Ballinliss to the lough.(7)

The oul'

people linked up 11 The Race 11 <8 )with a great war but there It was about

was another story I don't right remember.

a massacre of people on 11 The Raceu that had still to come.

I wish I bad listened to the oul' people. 11

Tbe Black Pig. nThere wus a scbocilmaster in Meigh in the days before St. Patrick an' he had the black art.

One of

he I s t:ricks wus to turn he's scholars into houn I s an 1 have gran' hunts.

He did it be a magic stick.

The

father of the ~ee fella that wus oftenest the hare, got to hear of the quare way he had of larnin' them their lessons, an' he up to the school one day.

.An' the

master wus out with the hunt but the stick wus there an' he ~rabbed it.

A.n 1 when the master come back he struck

him with it an' called him a black pig.

An' the boys

pelted him .with stones, so he fled into the county of

Down.

An• he tore up a deep trench as he run, an' there

are bits of the trench still.

Baliinliss.

(6)

Maigh.

(7)

Camlough.

(8)

•lternative name for Black Pig's Dyke.

Our Pa~an Back~round Ccont.)

The Rad Cow of Orior, uThe PassC9)was the haunt of a famous red cow in the oul' days.

She wus the pride of the place an' many a

narrow escape she had for it wus well-known she wus.

An 1

she had a special place for drinkin' in a well of her own an' her hoof-marks wur plain the rocks where she went down to drink.

An' she wus a great milker - the whole of OriorClO) ~ot their milk from her, but there wus a fool of a man from Louth who said one day he wud test her. milked her intill a riddle.

An' he

An' after he had milked for

days she huffed, an' nobody seen her more - she left in a rage an' ni ver come back. 11 Edenappagh.

The e;atherin' of the birds, uT'.aere wus a gathe±in I of all the birds of the air one day to houl' a contest as to which would be king among them.

Many a time I heared the story.

They Wlll' all

there, bi~, small, great and little and some wur gay wi'

colour like the kingfisher and others sober coloured like the wee Jinny wran. 11

(9)

The Gap of the North.

(10) The baronies of Upper and Lower Orior.

Our Pa~an Back~round (cont,) There wus a great contention as to how the matter wud be decided but in the end it wus arranged that the one that cud rise the highest wud be the king. there and they started.

They wur all

The lark soared into the sky,

but it wus soon passed be the hawk and the eagle.

Soon

the eagle left them all behine and in no time was high as the sun itself.

There and then it proclaimed itself

king Qf the air but as sure as to-morrow a wee wran had

hid itself in the topney of the eagle unknownst, from which it rose and continued upwards singing 11 1 1 m your king, king of the air am 1 11 •

The eagle wus sore put out

but it wus too tired to follow and the wran won.

Its a

right cute wee bird the same wran. 11 Crossmaglen, aged about 80.

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA, Navan Rath Traditions, Navan Rath lies about two miles west of Armagh city, on the old coach-road from Armagh to Enniskillen where a direction sign points the way to &ain Macha.

The so-

called rath consists of an earthen-ringed enclosure of twelve acres, containing a destroyed circular earthwork still easily traceable - and a great central mound, now

(1963) in process of investigation.

Chief in importance amongst the old mythology and legends of our country, it is said to derive its name from a Queen~acha who is believed to have been responsible for its lay-out about the year 350 B.C.

For nearly seven

centuries the great central mound was the crowning place of the Kings of Ulster, and on the slopes beneath it the Red Branch Knights, Ulster• s famous and Ireland's most notable order of chivalry', exercised themselves in warlike games.

Here Macha is reputed to have been buried and

somewhere near lies Fergus Fogha, the last King of Ulster, whose disastrous defeat by the three Collas in 320 A.D.

brought about the destruction of :&nain Macha and the expulsion of the Ultonians into a territory that we know

as Antrim and Down.

Arter the death of Fergus Fogha the earthwork seems to have fallen under a sort of ban, by which it was deemed

.

'l..b.

unlucky as a place of abode.

A century later Patrick

arrived on his mission and on a hill two miles east, dedicated to an earlier Macha he founded a church, destined to become supreme in all Ireland, the origin of whose primacy may in some measure be traced back to a transfer of secular precedence or the fact that Armagh itself is more ancient still than Ena1n Macha.

Tne hill on which the rath is sited is not quite 200 feet high and is surrounded by marshy lands on all sides excepting the south where tradition asserts that an old road ran from there to Tara.

From the summit

was witnessed the tragedy of Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach and a hundred other incidents besides.

On

its grassy hillsides Cuchullain excelled in manly arts,

and from it evolved those narratives that make the 11

Tain" the greatest epoch of Irish story telling.

In the immediate neighbourhood there were at one

time a number of pillar stones and several prehistoric graves.

Age

The imposing kerb of a large circular Bronze

cairn also remains to remind us of earlier occupation

and settlement, but their past glories are forgotten wereas the story of Enain Macha strongly survives.

'-7· ARHAGH HI SCELLANEA..

Navan Rath Stories, The Navan Dra~on, Pearls an' gold galore lie in the lake but the divil a one has iver seen them, for the dragon won't iver let a body near them, who has not the rightful blud of the owner in him.

Shure it's been seen twice in recent years, once by oul' 0 Rourke who wus mowing wid he's back till the lake, when he heared a hiss 'tween a screech an' a whis'le that nearly caused him till fall head over heels in the water.

He saw the face of it as it sunk in the middle

of the lake an' his very hair stood on en'.

It give

him such a fright he niver went back, an' the water wus that disturbed, the very wee water-hens, they up an' away

An' he wid them an' glad till go.

too.

But he wus not the last till see it, for shure ye know there's a passage from it till the King's Stables

beyant.

An' one day over in Tray - ye know the place

it's always full from the bottom wid water, an' there the Kings of Ulster in the oul 1 days, watered their horses an' washed their chariots like.

We'il, me bou.1 1 0 Toole

thought he wud drain the water away.

An' in he started

till cut the bank an' it so lovely an' round. it wus a pity

~

I

Navan Rath Stories (cont.)

till destroy the shape.

But, bedad, it's little diggin 1

he did for up popped the dragon so big that the water cud hardly be seen for it.

An' it spittin' something

awful an' its eyeballs wicked wid fire.

But shure that's

all he knows about it, except that he's not the same man since.

Ay, an 1 for many a long day after, he tuk till

his bed.

The Break,in~ of the Rath.

It wus fifty years ago or more, an' be the same token there's them alive the day who wur at the diggin 1 •

The

oul' people wur for iver talkin 1 of the gold and treasure --t&at wus hid be the King of Navan, when he left without pack.in' as it wur.

An' some said as how it wusn 1 t in the

lake at all but in the oul 1 fort itself, an' that he who wud fine it might ate with a silver spoon for the rest of he's life.

So one fine night some brave young lads

bethought themselves that they wud have a try for it.

An' they provided themselves with spades an' lanterns an' quietly made off to the forth, for indeed if their fathers had knowed it they wudn't have slept in their beds that

niiht at all, at all, with the dread of it.

they started off cheerful enough like. happy before they got nearer.

How-an-soever

But they wu.r less

An' the nearer they got,

Navan Rath Stories Ccont.) the less happy they wur.

An' at last they reached the

forth an' the quietness of it wus like till choke them, but they wr togither an' none had the courage till say, "Leave it alone an come home with yeH - although that's what they all wanted to do, for it wus them had a fear upon them right enough.

So roun' in a bundle they 'stud.

An' with the first

spadeful dug, a cock crowed somethin' fierce.

An' the

more they dug the more the cocks crowed., an' the hens too, all over the countryside, but that didn't stop them until the dogs started howlin'.

Then the fear gripped

them hard, for the noises began to close in on them, an' them right on the top of the forth.

An' they remembered

the dragon in the lough below an' they wur shure it wus on its way too.

So off they fled by the side farthest

from the lake.

An' they left their spades· behine them

though they had sense till houl 1 on be the lanterns.

An' the spades wur niver seen no more, though the maxks of the diggin' be there till this very day.

An' nothin'

happened till any of them, mebbe because they wur young ao' foolish, for the destroyin' of a forth is a serious thini, but they all lived till die natural deaths except

them that's livin' still, an' that's the true way of it.

~3o .

Navan Rath Stories (cont.) one side of his head was bald.

A man who one time owned the Navan ring filled some It wus a warm day an' he

of the rampaxt in the trench.

wus tired so he lay down an' slept.

When he woke an'

went home his wife toul' him one side of his head wus bald.

An' shure enough it wus.

An' the hair wudn' t

grow on it again, so he went to a canny woman, an' she said, said she, uput the soil back again in its o~l•s place an' all will be well. u

An I he did so, an I sure

as yer here, that side of his head grew good hair after.

3J .

ARlviAGH hI SCELLAH FA,

Navan Rath Stories.

Ena~h-Macha, In the ou.1 1 days there was a fair at .E:nagh that lasted a fortnight or three weeks and cattle and sheep

-- --

were treasured in the fort of Lisbanoe and guarded.

Informant Thomas Corr, . Lisbanoe, 1928, then over 70 years of age.

It seems curious that cattle and

sheep should haveienclosed in Lisbaboe fort.

As

regards Enagb it was undoubtedly known as Enagb-Macha in bygone days.

CUCHQLLAIN. ".Ay indeed, Cuchullain, was the boy.

Sure he

carried a bull calf up the hill each day, ay to the very summit.

And as the calf grew in weight

Cuchullain's strength increased until at last he was able to transport the full grown bull to the very top of the mound. at all 11 •

Sure it was no bother till him

3-3.

ARHAGH HI SCELLANEA

I

ST. PATRICK

Armagh is associated with various saints(l)but it is the Patrician traditions that are our chief interest.

Patrick is commemorated on the western outskirts of the city by an ancient well to which pilgrimages take place each 29th June.

Other wells in the county dedicated to

the saint are sited at Mahon, near Portadown, in Gosford Demesne (Markethill), now better known as Swift' s Well.

Besides those links we have a St. Patrick's Lough near a St. Patrick's Chair on the highest point of .A.rmaghbrague, and a St. Patrick's Road under the peat

-

,50'1~

in certain townlands on the northern- shore of Lough Neagh.

The stories may not be true.

ttThe bull pushed over during the night all that Patrick set up be day.

.An' Patrick wus very annoyed an'

cursed the bull an' it went mad. wus after it.

The whole of Armagh

It raged an' tore for miles roun' but

whether it wus killed be Patrick's curses or died of a temper, I don't remember.

(1)

St. Columba and St. Brigid were both commemorated by early churches, the sites of which are well known and 11 Brigid' s Well 11 still exists in the Palace Demesne thouih no longer a place of pilgrimage. '

(/

.34St. Patrick Ccont.)

It wus wonderful the way the saints cud curse in the The same Patrick wus good at it be all accounts.

2 An' He ' d ring his bell( )on ye an ' curse ye for little. oul' days.

ride over ye too if he tuk the notion.

He killed his

An' ivery time she riz he turned the

sister that way .

Sne soon died

horses an' drew the chariot over her again. of it.

But God wasn't always pleased with him for capers

of that sort.

He tried it once on a man but God raised

the groun' an' the wheels did no damage. have been a lesson till him.

That should

But the stories may not be

The oul ' people toul' them anyhow. 11

true.

.Armaghbrague.

'When I was a boy.

'W'nen I wus a boy it wus often I'd be on the mountain

1

above wi' oul ' Sammy Morrison who wus herd till the Moores of Lisnadill.

An' it's often he toul' me brothers an' me,

that a bull of the oul' days - mebbe indeed the one that chased Patrick he ' s self, is buried in under the Grey Stone ~3) The marks of its feet are on stones till this very day.

That wus in the oul' days an' the oul' people always It and a shrine made for it

by Donnell 0 Lochlan, King of Ireland, during the Primacy of Donnell Mc.Auley (Archbishop of Armagh from 1091 to 1105) are now in the National Collection in Dublin) .

(2) A mid-fifth century bell.

(3) A 1tan41nc stone tbat ticures in local folklore.

st. Patrick Cc0 nt,} had it that the "Bull's Track 11 (lt)in Ballymanab wus made be that very animal.

They said it went clane mad when

Patrick tried to settle on Carrickatuke.

An I

the dancin'

an• roarin' ot it put the tear ot God in the whole countryside - and no wonder, tor shure ivery night it wud be wrecld.n'

beyant.

all that Patrick bed built be day on Carrick

Ah sure,

only tor that bull Armaah wud be on

the tine site - that's it the story is true - an' mind ye there's something in oul' stories or they wudn't be toul'. !h~ bull went mad, ay, completely crazy,

an• he riz

at Carrick an• lit at Ballymanab, an' the noise wus avtul.

It trichtened even Patrick, an• he gathered the country

from tar an' near, an' they slew the baste an• draaced hi• An' they retched the biggest stone they cud till Corran.

-find.

An' they due the deepest hole that iver wus an•

they dullped him in.

An• they put the stone on top, thq

vur 10 ateared he'd rise qain.

An' when we wur childer

we wr so af'eared ot him risine we Diver went near the stone at all."

(I+)

One ot three hoot-indented boulders linked by' traclition with the bull that drove Patrick tr011 Carricatuke.

st, Patrick Ceont,>

¼he orv Stone ot Corren.

"I did hear that an oul I man be name ot Paddy Docherty

that did 11ve here in the oul I days bad a citt tor toretellinc, an• that he did say there wus a crock of coold within the throw ot a tineer-stone ot that oul' stone, but I n1 ver heared that he said in what direction."

A.rthur McKee.

St, Pat;ri,ck was this xu once"Indeed St. Patrick wus this way once.

He come be

Slieve Cross an' wus all tor bllildinc a church at the head ot the tow,;,<5) near to the oul' mill somewhere, but God thoucht the Louth ones needed him more.

A.n' so

Patrick had to build his wee church on the oft .side ot the river, where the wee craveyard is till this very dq.

Many a dacent man wus buried in that wee place thouch mebbe JOU wudn't think it.•< 6 > Shean.

(Local tradition asserts that St. Patrick slept one nicht in the clett ot a rock between Slieve Brack and Slieve Cross or Cross Slieve as it is more COllllllonly called.) ( ~)

P'orkhill.

(6)

Urney.

Site ot an ancient Christian settl•ent ot

vbich only the cburchyard r•ains.

st. Patrick <cont,> St, Patrick And the bull. aTbe boul 1 Patrick bate the bull at lone last.

It

7

cive hill bother on Carrick< >dancin' roun• him, but when the bu.cier tollowed him till .Armach, hews fair ancered.

Says he till himself - "I must show the baste who• s the master heren and with t.hat he crabbed it be its tour pins and whirled it into the sky.

When it come down acain it

bounced leek an injy-rubber ball traa one hill till another all roun• the town, an• iverywhere it tell it left its marks. place still.

They're plain till be seen in many a There's marks at the Navan itselt an• in (8)

a couple of places on the way till Newtown, but the bull couldn't have been the d.1v11 as some people would have it, tor teth the oul' boy's here yet.• Ballyheridan, 1927.

%he H111 ot the Hgrsa, "1ullycarron is lmown locally as the Hill ot the .

horse and there 1s a tradition that lihen Patrick was bu.ildinc his church at Armacb be bad a horse that ca11e

(7)

Carriokatulte, the hichest point in Armachbracue.

(8)

•ewtownhaailton.

st. Patrick Ccpnt,> out each nicht from Armach to craze on this hill.

Some

fields in this townland have Irish names. n

Patrick Lennon, Tullycarron, June 191+2.

Tb@ Bn11 • s :crack.

•1t•s on the way till .Armach like, an• there's nothin 1 till touch it the whole world over.

Sure I niver believed

it meselt until me an• some others tooted it down. there it wus as plain as ye like.

.tn•

I saw it with me own

two eyes an• I tell ye it's the crandest scenery ye iver saw.

Sure the marks ot the baste• s cloots are as plain

this blessed day as they wur when Patrick himself ws here . .tn I that I s so many years cone by, none but thai as has the

larnin 1 can tell.

Ay, many a time I heared the story ot

how the bull riz on the Bracue an• niver touched earth till he lit at Ballymacnab.

.tn• then he riz acain an• cae

down on the side ot Navan Bath. on another in LilJladill.

!n 1 he back an• he laps

An' attar that he vent clane • ad •

.An• the country up an• _slauptered him. hia on Corran,

.tn• they buried

an• there he lies under a lUllp ot a stone •

.An• scme say be ws no bull at all bu.t the very oul 1 divil

hi• Hlt - an• aebbe he wus.

llbo knows?•

Ball,-acnab.

st. fatr1c;k; {cont,> Carrick xas a,lxays a centle place, nThe top of Carrick was always a centle place.

It

was mebbe that before St. Patrick's Day tor hews keen to build on it.

An' he wd hev bed a wee church there

but that the oul 1 druids disliked it.

rbey raised a

bull that cored the walls to bits ivery nicht, so that the saint wus no farther torrard in the mornin'.

!hat

vent on tor a lone time an' in the end Patrick lost heart an• went on to Armach.

It wus mebbe then that

the people riz an• destroyed the bull.

Better they bed

done it earlier, ~~en the saint micht hev sta.,itd.

Hot so ;one aco thousands~ be there on the first !bere'd be caes an• dances an• lots

Sunday in Aucust.

of _harmless tun, thouch to be sure there micht be too ~eh drink betime_s, stronc . stuff too, that paid notbin • It wus mebbe on that fhnday that till the Bxcise man. the bull was killed. start the thine!

There must hev been somethin' till

Bllt who knows now?

How they sq it's

blaye~er~es they come tor an• till meet their sweethearts, but indeed it micht be that sich catherin•s were on the hill before Patrie~• s day an_• hev laster iver since.

The

oul' people used till sa:, Carrick wus a cultivated place

St, Patr1ok <cont,> li:um he come an• that the rest of the country was scrub

and trees an' tull of wild pies an• even worse, thinrs that nothin's kn.owed of now, God be tbankit!"

%h@ Hple stone at J,lU strarb,.

"It was on the top ot the hill when the oul' road come that way but the oul' HcKannells and Hacuires moved in to its present home when the new road was built.

The story is that when Patrick come ti11· the hill he cot

ott bis horse till bless the country round and so that he micht not be rorcotten, he left the mark or the butt

or his statr in the stone."

James Macuire1 illistrarh, aced about 10, 19lt2.

"An' Pat;rigk lost a tooth".

"Sure .P_a triok ws the one?

He come here< 9 >once

Armach . an• he had a ficht in the meadow with the oul' troa 1>or hillselt~ _ ~• - th~ ~a~tle ended in the river< 10 >below

7e.

It's apit7 "indaed that the divu< 11>,ot away, but

The villace ·or Blackwatertown, Co~ Armach,_ in the Parish of Clonf'eacle - "meadow of tbe too'tll".

(10) The Dabhall or Blackwater river, from which the · · V'illace· takes its ·name.

(11) There ii another varsion in the !rip-Life in which It states hi• Satanic Ha3esty does not appear. that Patrick lost the tooth "lllhen washinc his cwas in the river."

(9)

)t·( .

St, Patrjck <cont,) indeed its away he cot.

An' Patrick lost a tooth 1D

tha ticht, on the brink ot the water, an' it lay in it tor many a year, until at last it wus tuk intill the church.

It wus here too the same Patrick met another saint< 12 > whose name_I clain f'orcit, but he didn't like hia anyhow, so he ordered he's coachman - tor indeed the quality had such like in them days too - to drive over the other fellow.

But the driver vus ate~ed to run down a m.an

that wus mebbe as cood or better than Patrick he's selt.

I have heared that the stories are in history so it•s

sacred truth they are."

J.L., Blackvatertown area, aced about 80.

It' a a pity that onJ' c1iste111 shgµJd 011.

"!here used till be many a bit ot fun roun' Dl'Wlloucher. lily there'd be hundreds of' people at the wee louch(l3)ivery

29th of June.

!here' d be younc an' oul' an' as many

veemin as m.en.

People vent till lie on the stone,(l~)

but why they lay on it I don't mind, tor the thinc< 1 ,>was st. Olcan. See Stokes Trip-Life I! 166 tor !ale ot the encounter between the two b shops.

St. Patrick's Louch~ · St. · Patr1ok 1 s Stone; !bis refers to the pilcrilllace.

St, Patrick (cont,> tallinc away when I ws a boy. · They used till say that the marks wr caused b7 St. Patrick sleepinc a nicht on it.

It• s better he'd have be~n in the rushes poor man tban on thon hard block. caused d1tterentl7.

Bilt I heared too that the mark was There was a water-snake there 1n the

oul' days an• the saint chased it an• in the runninc He must have bit it a

tripped bis length on the stone.

What happened

quare dent tor the mark's there still.

the snake I torci t - but sure it wud bed no chance out ot the water with a saint on its tail.

There wr bonetires too!

People wd always aave a

bac ot turf tor that eveni~no matter how short they ncht be.

An' the cattle wd be taken down an• the ashes thrown

about the.

I don•t llind that part but me father did.

6

Ou.1 1 people siad the other wee louch<i )hed a pilcrillace

to it too, but I know nothi~ ot that.

It's a pity that

oul • customs should die. " Drumloucher, 80, 1926.

(16)

St. Petar•s Louch - it adjoins St. Patrick's.

st. Pa.trick Ccont,> %bi Pl'P,id's Wall, In Orior in the days or the Druids there were two •ac1c wells ot bic repute~ their waters could make ye a man ot substance or maybe a begcar - and because ot ~he tac~ that _no man knew which was which, it was tev who'd drink trom them.

The rich reared the loss ot

their wealth and the poor were af'raid that 1! the:y supped trOlll the vronc well life would not be worth livin'.

Bedause or the dread there was no tryinc by either classes to tind them and that was what the Druids wanted, tor they were not ordinary wells at all but sprinc s ot mystic water that they alone llicht enjoy, and it was in that W8."f b7 spreadinc such stories they kept the wells tor their own

use.

It is said that both were closed by Patrick's orders and that one was 1n Louchcilly and the other in Kille'YJ, but I have my doubts about that - them times are a lone way ott and the wells

could have be en anywhere.

That

was Mickey Pat O'Banlon• s story and his ones were oul'

atqck.

I vouldn't be sayinc its cospel but the o•Ban1on 1 s

bellned it anyhow."

Ballard - base ot Slieve Gullion, 19~3. fold to myself' and party of' soldiers.

~st, eu:1 ck Ccont, >

st, Patrisk' 1 Rga,d, •Sunk in the turt is an oul' road.

but sure me_people did.

I niver saw it

It wus made ot tree trunks lyinc

on their sides an• it was a brave bit down, halt-a-dozen ~~

say it wus built be Patrick to brine sand tr011 the louch< 1 ?~to Armach, but others say it's

spadeinc __may~e.

not so ancient as that.

I•ve heared it said it's marked

on maps."

Derrytrasna, 1926.

Cn]µmbk:ill•s Cn1'S9.

"Columbld.ll ws on he's way till visit another saint on~ d~ an• a!te~ he passed Hachery he wus chased be ~eople who di~•t k:n~v ~~-

An' the man wus in he's bed

at - the time but. he had till cet up.

!n. 1 he'd only cot

·one stocld.n • an I one shoe on until he had till run tor But he ws aisy tracked because ot the

he's bare lite.

way he vus sho~ an• t~ey soon ~aucht him.

An• he put a

•t~onc curse _on ~~em th~t wud pull on their shoes an• 1tockin I s that way. - An'. that I s why the men an I we em.in .

ot Columbld.ll(lS)c et both their teat in their stocld.n•s before they pull .their shoes on."

(Fishermen's story.)

(17) Louch Beach. _ .

(18) Part ot the tovnland ot Derrylard, near the villace ot HUltovn on the shore ot Louch Beach.

---~--· st, Patrick Ccgpt, > ,:ha Daa,th 0 t Ushan.

"Before the days of Finn, Ushen lett Ireland tor the countey ot the ivar younc an• there listanin' till the birds in the trees haws charmed till sleep an' woke no more tor hundreds of years.

But wan he did wake, shure,

ha had a heart lo111in' for Ireland an• the friends ot he's youth.

An'

rest ha cud no more until he saw acain he's

oul' home on Slew Gullion.

So ott he set, an he niver to

rest he's feet on Irish soil acain or it wus down he'd fall a dead an' cone man.

Bat nothin' cud houl • him when

he tuk the notion, so up h~ hopped on his hich white horse.

An' it was a real enchanted one with real lone lees, tor iverybody knows no matter how far it wud be after sinkin' in the bocs its belly wd be clean an• dry above the croun•. · An• he reached Carnacora in safety, bu.t there he -

overtuk a wee oul' woman with a very larce bac.

An' it

vus full or hard black turf an• she cryinc, tor it had An' Ushen cudn•t hear a VOIRaD in slipped her shoulders. tears be ws that tender of heart - but that vus the vay vith them ones, they had either 100d bic open hearts or rotten bad bnes.

l:3.

St, Patrick coont, > .An' there was she, the poor sowl, an• she cryin' an• Ushen that put about he didn't know what to do. down he

reached with his toot.

toe, helped her up with the bac.

But

An• with the en• ot his An' in less than no

time he was a dyinc man, tor it ws tull ot turt trora the wee boc below, an• what ws till happen wus upon him.

That w s in Patrick's day an' the saint himselt wus upon be' s way to A.rma1h.

But when be heared be flew till

Ushen to tell him about Heaven an' help him make he's sowl.

But Ushen had no hanker tor a place where Pinn an' the heroes wur not, so he wudn't listen at all.

But Patrick

had a _wakeness tor him an' says, nye may have three wishes before ye die, it ye 1 ll turn till Heaven before ye 10."

"Well," says Ushen, "it I must be &oin 1 till Heaven can I

-

have me houn's an' bay&els with me. 11

"Och, says Patrick,

"a plague upon ye an' sure ye can't.

Is it dress up the

-

-

brutes ye wud with colden crowns on their heads an• harps in their ban's like christians," says he.

"Away with ye

man."

Th.en up spoke Usheeil as boul' as brass.

Says he,

"Your God is not nearly so cood a man as Finn, so I won't co near him then."

An' Patrick ws that put about he says,

1$.

4'7.

st , Patrick Ccopt.) says he, "Ye can have another wish anyhow."

Then says

Ushen, "Let me lie on the sunny side of Slew Gullion. 11

Jn' there he lies to~ Patrick hadn't the heart till say An• he died on "lo" till him, he wus so 1rieved like. . Carnacore in s1cht of his burial, an' I misdoubt me it that wsn•t the createst i'uneral that iver was."

"And Patrick xas Real Sora" "It wus in the days of Ushen an' Patrick ws sore tormented for 1veryth1n1 that he'd be buildin' on the Br_acue wd be down the next mornin'.

An' Ushen ws

jist back from the lan• or niver die, where he micht have been livin' still, only that he liked Ireland better.

An• that's that.

Shure it wus on the other side of Carrickbroad it al1 happened.

Ushen on he's bic white horse ws careerin'

up the mountain when a woman with a bac or turf - bad luck to her anyhow, for it ws the creed of her caused it.

Why eudn • t she be after fillin' what she cY-d carry an' not

be burdenin' herself with the lazy man• s load?

But shure

all the sorrows ot Ireland come be the weemin an' if' ye u ••, they' re the cause of' maD1 a heart burn still.

An'

••bbe some of them are worth it an', more like, some are not.

st. Patrick <cont,> How an• so iver, till be slicin' a lone story short, sbure Ushen foreot he wus sate on he's horse only so lone as he didn't be .attar droppin' his lees on the croun' an' down he hopped an• helped her up with the turf on her back.

An', och anee, that wus the harm.

Ushen soon felt the

death upon him an' down he lay upon the hill side.

An'

the woman who wus mebbe the Cally Berry, or someone like her, went away.

An' Patrick ws passin' alone an' be heared all about

it, an' up he coes.

An' says Patrick till Ushen, "It's

sorry I am till see ye so wake now.

Shure it's yerseU

can have the wish three times one before ye die now. 11 An' Patrick talked to him of Heaven but Ushen wsn't in

much ot a bother. there? 11

Says he "Are there houn• s an• bqcels

"The divil one," says Patrick.

-

coin' there at all, 11 says Ushen.

11

Well I' • not

An' Patrick ws sore

put about tor he ws tald.n' a lild.n' till hill.

Says he,

"Tween you an• that brute of a bull on the Brague I •11 like to be breald.n' my heart."

An' Ushen bad a wish, says be, "Will ye bury 1ae on

Slew Gul.lion. "

Jn• will ye bury me hi&b an' dry an 1

clap a stone or two above me.•

"Deed an' I will,• says

St, Patrick Cannt, > Patrick.

Then says Ushen, "For me last wish I'll have

me strencth acain till I take a look at yer bull.

Give

me back my strencth an' I 111 rid ye of him II says he.

An' Patrick says, · 11Rise me boul' boy an• be after doin'

your best."

An' Ushen went an• sarched for the bull an• when he foun• it he struck it a mortal box in the face that knocked it as stiff as you like.

An' it's buried on a mountain

somewhere near till the Bracue with a stone above it, like a Christian himself.

An' when Patrick come till look tor

hill, thinkin' as like as not he w.d be totally destroyed, there he wus asleep in the skin of the baste. for a blanket he ws.

Usin' it

But shure he woke no more.

An•

they broucht him back till oul • Slew Gullion an• bu.ried bill there.

An' Patrick wus real sorry."

S-o.

ARhAGH hI SQELLANEA..

Local Traditions of Histori~al Bvents.

:£bere was a ~reat kin~ killed here.

"There was a great king killed here in the oul' days. ~ne battle raged for days.

He won alright but he lost

his life, so the battle was little comfort to him.

They

say the whole story is printed(l) in oul' histories so some of it must be true.

Things that ye see in print

are always right. 11

(Cavanacaw 1925).

It's not a real earn.

"It's not a real earn. ( 2 )

Sure it wus raised till

mark the spot where a man wus foun' dead once.

Nobody

knowed him an' he wusn't murdered, he jist died of something.

That wus maYbe two hundred years ago or less.

I niver

remember anyone li vin' who wus at he' s wake. 11 (Drumahavil 1925).

In Stuart• s 11Armagb 11 (:p.163) there is a reference to a battle here in 1188 in which Donald son of Hugh O Lochlin, King of Tyrone, lost his life.

The author states that the then name was 11 Cavanit has •na-cran11 (hollow field of trees) but that since been denominated 11 Cavan-na-cath 11 - the field of the fight.

(2) The c·arn has a height of five feet and a circumference It is the only memorial of its of fifty-one feet.

There was a small type that I know of in the county. one in Ballymoyer churchyard over the grave of Florence Ma~oyer the last Keeper of the Book of Arma~h; but the stones there were thrown with the idea of disgracing See Wakefield' s Account of Ireland, p.761. the grave.

(1)

Local Tradjtions of Historical Events (cont,)

The Butter Lep, "A wudn't be stayin' too long aroun' that place.CJ)

It has a bad Tepute in these parts.

It wus a place of

call in the oul' days, but travellers wur often murdered in it that is if they wq.r worth the killin'.

It's not

one ghost but many that's about it an' the worst of all is a headless dog.

An' on the other side of the road is

lep 11 •

11

the butter

Lon~ ago when people wud be goin' till the market

or' Ne'WI'y with their bits of firkins of butter, the robbers wud set upon them,

of the ponies.

an• cut the firkins<4)f ree of the backs

What that wus done the butter would roul

down tbe hillside till the bottom, where other villians wud be_.waiting till ;t~ke it away.

An I the people of

that houseC5)wd know nothing about it.

Allen, Cladymore.

(3)

(4) (5)

1926.

Empty house on Newtownhamilton-Armagh road on the northern slope of Black Bank.

A small cask wherein butter was transported to markets.

People of Hthe house of call 11.

Local Traditi ons of Histor ical Events ccont. )

Xs'd hev heared all the oul' tunes there, 6 "There was a fair here< )in the oul' days that hadn't its like in the north.

There'd be as many tents as wud house an army.

An 1 the horse fair would be on one side

of the road and the cattle on the other.

An' the tents

were full of merrymaking an' there wudn't be a fiddler or singer in Louth or Monaghan who wudn't be doin' his best.

Ye'd hev heared all the oul' tunes there an' the bards makin' fun of each other in songs. 11 Shanroe . :flJe:y: !o:u,gllt :till ttJ.si g,ea,th.

.

(7) '_'Two giants did a battle here.

It was mebbe

before St. Patric k's time but the oul' people bed the They fought till the death and they were both story. buried in one grave.

There's only two stones now but

there were lots in the days gone by.

11

Dooha,t, 1928.

It•s sgaresome ri~ht enou~h.

11

(6)

(7)

(8)

The Tory Hole 1 s< 8 )a bad place.

Keenan wbo was

Seems Forkhi ll Fair. Held on Michaelmas Day. n~ to have been more importa nt from the social gatheri cattle. and horses of sales its from than view of point Mullya rd Hill. Probab ly the two stones that remain (one uprigh t and one recumb ent) were ori~ina lly part ot a burial earn.

A deep bole in the river in Drumault Glen.

~Local Tradition s of Histo~ica l Events (cont.)

5'3 .

taker of heads till oul Johnny Johnston, threw the headless bodies of the Tories into it to save himself the bother of burials.

Many a thing was saw there.

It's scaresome

right enough. 11 Drumault, 1929.

Canner's Grave.

11

9 In a corner on the roadside where tbe three townland / )

join it was.

It covered a man of that name who put an end

till himself over a hundred years ago.

Three times he was

buried in Aghory(lO )and three times they threw him out.

11

Teemore, 1927.

The Battle of the Diamond.

"Some of the people killed at the Battle of the People are not long quit Diamond were buried here. (ll) coming to say prayers for them."

Laurence Cullen, Tullymore , 1927.

(9)

Cornascre ibe, Teemore and Tamnamore.

(10) Aghory Presbyter ian burial g~ound. Grave marked on the first Ordnance Survey sheets of 1835 by above title. townla.nd. The celebrate d Cli) Faughart Fort in Tullymore fight took place on 21 Sept. 1795 and resulted in the foundatio n of- the Orange Order.

•, Local Traditions of Historical Events (cont.)

Castle Raw, 2 "Castle Raw(l )was at one time a fine sight an' that not so long since.

Sixty years a~o !here was more of it

than there is the day.

The oul' people said the sand that

was brought to build it was carried on horses from Lough Neagh. 11 Laurence Cullen, 1927.

The Bi~ storm, (13)

"When the storm was at its height a young fella took out and tied her till a bush whilst he went his mother ,

for help.

When he come back, shure she was gone.

That

was tough on him. 11 Moddy-na-Hone,

"The oul' na!lle of this place was Moddy-na-ho ne and it was so called from the wee bit of river that divides the counties •

. I heared a story from the oul' people of a dog

that wud be drinkin' here but I forgit it.

It was a place

of some importance in far off times for it was called the 11 Pass too, but now indeed its only the Madden it gits.

(Taken down from an old man at Madden Inn, about 1920).

(12)

Remains of a Plantation castle built by Anthony Cope between 1611 and 1619 and partially destroyed-i n the Civil War.

{13)

Tales about above event are rarely heard now thouih it is still reauambered as the Big Wind of 1839.

Local Tradjtions of Historical Events Ccont.)

Hamilton's Bawn, "It wus a gran I hiring fair they used till have here but who needs sarvent boys now?

Shure the young fellas

now wud rather drive a bus or go till Ameriky or one of them foreign places, than feel the reins atween their fingers. it's a hard life the farmers have but it's good

Ay!

till be alive an• in the fiel's with the horses at times.

Ye have a guess as till how the saysons go when yer in the Not but what they've changed too.

open.

it ws wise till alter the clock.

I doubt whether

Shure what has foolish

man till do with God's own time.

But mi~d ye I'm not denyin' the long evenin' s is good But what for them that has the time till skite about. about the mornin's an• the dew on the grass,' an• nothin' a doin' at all, at all, until it's nearing the middle of the day."

(Local man aged 80, circa 19JO).

6,pring Cleaning.

11

I remember my Uncle Patrick McGee having an argument

W1 th a woman in Ballymac ulley.

She carried the bells for

the best-tong ued woman for miles, and there was the usual spring cleaning. Ale listened to her for a good while and

Local Traditions of Hjsto rical Events Ccont.)

11 11 then he said .Are you a Bricki n"?" You have all the signs of the breed" .

That dried her up and I wonde red

Said I to my uncle, who were the 11 Bricki ns"?

11 Said he, thank God there I s not a drop's blood of them

wy.

in us anyway • 11

It was a long time before I learne d how

tbe nickna me was come by.

This is the story.

The real Bricki n was a bad one.

Brickl an in the County of Down.

He lived at Lough

He was a petty chief

and the cause of dozens of wars in Ulster . it all by lies and an evil tongue .

He managed

He was a danger ous

sort for all his lies had a bit of truth in them.

Things reache d such a pass that the chief Druid paid him a visit, and threat ened to curse him and all his poste rity That gave him a fright , if he did not mend his ways.

He and the.Dr uid impo_sed a penanc e on him as well. made him build a banque t hall and give a feast to all the kings and chiefs that he had slande red, and the feast The place select ed lasted for nine days and nine nights . was the hill of Dundrum, now crowned by an old castle of All the kings and chiefs were there and he later days. made amends for all he had done and promis ed never to But he had cause wars among the men of Ulster again. an eVil heart so he went among the wives of the chiefs and told them tales and they were soon fighti ng, and in

LocaJ Tradjtions of Historical Events {cont,) no time the men were taking sides too and the feast ended

in a great slaughter.

When he saw what he had done and

thought of his promise to the Druid, he made for home, but as he crossed the foot of Dehomed Mountain he was attacked by a herd of wild pigs.

the pigs ate him.

He was killed by a wild boar and

That was the last of Brickin and that

was centuries before Patrick's day. 11 McCarten, Ballymacull y.

July 1943.

In them day@ if a fella wanted a ~irl he tuk her.

11

There wus a time when the boys and girls of Cross

had more spirit in them than they hev now. if a fella wanted a girl he tuk her.

In them days

It wus aisy to do.

He grabbed her comin' from the Chapel, or maybe a wake, 4 or the two of them might go off from a blayeberryi n'~l ) After that there'd soon be a weddin' for indeed the girl's

people wud hev till agree to save her caracter. (l5) Weddin's in them days too wur weddin's - an• mind ye them days are not so long ago - an' well worth seein'.

Them that had sidecars loaned them or brought them and them that had no sich conveyances went astride their pony or

(14)

This usually takes place on the last Sunday in July and first Sunday in August and is chiefly attended by the young people.

Cl,)

Character.

17-:

58.

Local Tradjtions of Historical Events Ccont,) horse an' the crowd followed on fut.

There'd be a great

party at the bride's house an' bonefires ( 16 )in the evenin'.

A man with a bunch of daughters wus niver out of debt an'

if he left a son, the poor fella niver had a chance, for the wake an' funeral of the oul' man wus a drag on him for the rest of his life.

But it wus great fun an' I

mind sich things when I wus a boy.

I heared me mother tell how up till her time the bride in ivery family had a special oaten cake baked for It wus called the her an' well barned be her mother. bride's marriage cake an' wus broke on her head when she The bits wur all gathered up come back till the house. be the younger ones an' they slept on them same as foolish people do the day, thinkin 1 they'll draim of them they'll splice(l? )with.

There 1 s a Danish chieftain buried there, "There's a Danish chieftain .buried there(lS) or maybe Down the centuries there were people come from The visits Denmark, generatio n after generatio n of them. two.

Such fires • are fairly common still but the custom is dying out.

11 (16) , Bonfires - locally called bonefires

11

(17)

Marry.

(18)

"Alexande r I s Forth II in Kinnego townland.

Corr of Mullaghm ore. 1927.

Informant

#ocal Traditions of Historical Events Ccont.) were paid up till my grandfather's time but they're now

quit.

We never knew when they begun. 11

She made them promise she would never lie in Legar Hill.

"Many a fight there wus there(l9)in the oul' days, ay, long before James or William's men set fut in Charleymont.

But them thats in i t now does no fighting.

Did ye hear

of the woman that wus niver till lie there?

She wus a

tarror to her husband and childer an' them all grown up.

But she tuk a brash one day an' when she knowed there wus no mending for ber, she made them promise she wud niver lie in Legar Hill.

An' they promised, but she lived on an'

wus worse after.

Tbey wur so mad with her that at last

when her toes did turn up they planted her in Legar Hill.

But tbey tuk good care to bury her stanning upright so that their minds might be quiet even if her's wus not.

In the ou,]. 1 days thE\ire was a fair in Enagb.

11

(20)

"In the oul' days there was a fair in Enagh-

that

lasted a fortnight or three weeks and cattle and sheep were treasured in the fort of L~ sbanoa and guarded.

11

Thomas Corr, Lisbanoe, 1928.

(19)

is said Legar Hill Fort. Its use as a iraveyard 11 to date back to 11 the Wars of 164-1 •

,~o)

'.I'his townland was called Enagh-macha in bygone days, and is locally associated with e~ents at Navan Rath.

.H:.

60 nt,) Loc~J Traditions of Hjstorical Events {co Qarlmore' s Rock, . it. ( 2l) him self used "Ch a i er-n a-co ppa l

He was a gran ' but he had a brot her thie f an' he cud neth er read or writ e, that was a scho lar. es in the hill s They used till graz e thei r stol en hors I . . here befo re they d ship them from Newry · of Dors ey r (22) It was also used .be big Cba rley Carr aghe t.

But they who was dace nt be day an' a rogu e at nigh were both caug ht at last .

11

( Stur gan) .

TµJ] yard lfou pd.

23 \n the oul• "Th ere was a woman in whit e abou t it( .

Maybe She haun ted it wel l an• was seen be many .

days . . t was D eird re <2 1+) hers elf.

1

Who kriows now? 11 Lisd own will y, 1926 .

(21) (22)

(23)

Dempsey the Cah ier-n a-co ppa l othe rwis e Cha rles .

1773 uted Exec noto riou s highwayman. call ed Carl More, from Cha rles Carr aghe r, commonlyname He was keep er of . its gets y entl evid it whom u~e he s~ol e beca uted exec was the Dors ey pound but is men tion ed He le. es and catt his neig hbo urs hors 11 11 • Fews the of ory Hist in Don alds on's be the buri al-p lace The Mound Tull yard . Said to conn ecte d in some way also of the Sons of Usna but an.

Cret t with a Sain adjo inin g town land of Her grav e is said to be in r the pied by Mul lynu re occu late spot Mul lynu re on the Abbey.

~bi.

Local Traditions of Historical Events (cont.)

The King's Table.< 25 ) 11

Long ago gentlemen, ay, an I ladies too of the very

highest degree, come from far and near to dine upon the table, an' put their glass an' bottle in· the very holes in which King James put his.

In them days too the rock

was kept clean and free from whins, but now they' re growing over the very holes that held the glass and bottle.

In my father's day nobody come' d to the 11 Ramparsu<

26 )

-who didn't visit 11 the King's Table 11 , an' always they'd have a meal there.

Often as a child I showed people the

11 way till it, but sure nobody bothers with it now.

Mrs. Conlan, aged 86, circa 1928.

TuJ lysaran, uTbe

Olivers owned Tullysaran under Lord Charlemont.

They were a liberal broad-minded family and gave a plot of ground on which to erect a chapel for Divine Service.

It

was mud-walled, small and thatched and was wilfully burned about the year 1809~ 27 ) The. names of three of the people Donahlson's "History of the Fews 11 , p.

(25)

See

(26)

Local name for Dorsy entrenchment, an enclosure linked with Emain Macha and pre-Christian in period.

Tullysaran Chapel was burned 7 March 1797. See Northern Star 13-17 March 1797,

~-

b2 Local Traditions of Historical Events Ccont.) responsible have survived, McDowell, Manly and Wallace.

Later a stone chapel was built, but as the Olivers had only a temporary lease they could not do anything.

Lord Charlemont was difficu.l t of approach and Verner his The

agent refused to grant a lease for the purpose. people did not know what to do.

2

She

was after her confinement and the baby had died.

She

About that time Lady Charlemont took ill. C B)

was very ill and grew worse.

One of her servants told

her of a man whom she knew, who had taken several other ladies safely out of like troubles.

Lord Charlemont

eventually heard the story and ordered that a carriage with the fastest horses be sent for the man.

The man

was a handy man in bl.o.Ga-letting and other things and was looked upon as a medical man.

He went to Lady Charlemont

and took his lances with him.

Her breast had to be

opened for the trouble was clotted milk.

She was put

upon a diet and he attended her daily.

When she was well

he went no more, but Lord Charlemont drove over to see him one day with a handful of gold.

He would not accept

it and it was then Lord Charlemont learned for the first

time that th~ man was a tenant on his own estate.

(28)

When

LocaJ Traditions of Historical Events Ccont.)

Lord Charlemont heard that he said, "I will direct that a larger farQ be given to you or your son 11 • 11

said,

But the man

1 want nothing for myself but I want ground for

our dead and a place for Divine worship and your agent When Lord Charlemont heard that, he

has refused it. 11

said, "I will give you the ground and you can do what you like with it . 11

So he gave him a lease of half an acre

and in his own name and that man was my grandfather Daniel Conroy of Cloghfin. 11 Macarten, Ballymacully, Aug. 1943.

The breakin~ of the·carn.

The Thompson's of Jonesboro' were out with a hunt 2 one day, when a hare took to hiding in the carn.( 9) They 11

were knowin' boys an when they spotted the treasure, they called the hunt off.

But they _returned that night with

mules a'n i were made men (30) e:li'el'r.;-after.

Walls were built from a earn across the mountain -by a family called Halpenny for the Johnstons of Carrickbroad an' .Johnston• s Folly was built., from the smaller earn. ( 3l)

(29)-

The la:rger earn on Carrickbroad.

(30)

Moneyed men.

~3l)

Local Traditions of Historical Events (cont.)

Pµlkowgn~ 32 ) 11

In the oul' days when the Johnstons were at Roxboro',

that was one of their beheading stones.

An' the blood-

stains are upon it till this very day, an' its few people wud pass it at night because of the ghosts that still be

there.

Five pounds a head they wur paid for all that

went to Armagh or Dublin.

An' the head of many a dacent

man went up instead of a .Tory an' KeenanC33)wt1s worse than the .Tohnstons. (34) 11 Umericam, circa 1930. Informant aged 75He'd taka till the earth like a fox, 11

R_edmon<:!- had a biding place in Tullymacree.

a cave in the heather and bracken. besides him.

It was

Many a one hid in it

I heared it said he would take till the

earth like a fox.

But like the f'.ox he was caught at last -

not in a fair hunt though, but in a trap set be his friends.u(35) Mrs. Hughes, Tullymacree, 1927.

(32)

A rock i~ Umericam Bog, near Silverbridge.

<33)

"Keenan of the Head_s 11 , locally believed to ha ve been responsible for behea.ding inore than a hundred tories on this Jarticular rock.

John Johnston of the Fews, notable as a Toxy hunter in the e~ly iSth century, of whom many stories survive.

Local Traditions Of Historical Events Ccont.)

Cormac of the heads.

11

Cormac Keenan was heads I man for the Johnstons and

he chopped off the head of many a man that was no Tory.

He was worse hated than his master and that's saying a lot for indeed Johnston of the Fews was detested and feared by all.

Cormac lived in the townland of Tullyvallen and it was far too long he lived in it.

But he was only mortal

and had to die like othe"rs, but his end was wicked.

When

he came to die a drop of blood began to drip from the roof right on to his bed.

And they moved the bed here and

there throughout the house, but the blood followed it and dropped until he died. 11 Cullyhanna (circa 1930). over 80 years of age.

Informant

These types of stories must have been very common in past days.

They illustrate retentive memories and an

inter.est in by~one times.

They mostly deal with people and places and in many instances the statements made therein can be verified from documentary or printed sources.

bt ARHAGH MISCELLANEA,,

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs.

Stories relating to the fairies were common throughout the county fifty years ago and many people of the seventy to ninety years age group, having heard stories of the 11

wee people" from their parents and grandparents are

inclined to say 11 there must have been such things in the oul' days otherwise the oul' people would not have knowed about them".

They will assure you that when they were

young they were told that it was unwise to speak ill of them and warned to be careful of breaking branches of The range of county stories covers such tales as -

1. People being kidnapped by fairies.

2.

t5-

6.

7.

8.

'9.

l.O.

11.

12.

Many

Horses ridden by fairies.

Fairies attended fairs.

Led their subjects into battle.

Stole cows~ Visited houses at night.

Lived in old forts.

Abducted children.

Were visible on certain occasions.

Had a liking for whiskey and poteen.

Sometimes lived in underground habitations.

Were good musicians.

taJ.es ,~ $U-rvive showing that it was believa.d that

they were angQlS. who had been cast out of heaven.

They

were also credited with destroying the eyes of people who

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs. (cont,} had seen them in fairy shape.

They stole women about to

give birth to babies, the children passing into their

possession.

Men suffered a like fate but they were

unable to steal priests.

To prevent these affairs milk

was spilled as an offering on the byre floors and in the houses.

In passing I may mention that it was commonly believed that when eating a boiled egg the top was removed and the cont_ents eaten.

The egg was then

reversed in the egg·cup and the spoon driven through the shell.

This little story taken down at Carrigatuke on

4rmaghbrague circa 1923 was related to me by an old friend then aged 80 or more.

Her reason for the custom, I give

in her ow words - nthe raison people would up-end the egg wb:en they

picked the mate f:r;om it, and drive the spoon

through :itit bo~tom; was that the wee people wucln' t be able till sa.;U a:w~y-in it.

Me grandfather did it and his

iran«.fa:thei :ato:C:ei b.itn. . .:- --~ '.;.--.:=-- • -~

But there wur some that didn It

and. tbatrs why_ there ar-e no :,,ee,-pE;?ople now. 11

The ;was pesp]a wa;r,e great weavers.

It was the custom nera(l)to throw -up a loosB wall

(1)

Lisdrumbrochus. John Hillock aged 8~ in 1930, a delightful ®mpanion and very witty. Talking oi' a preVious rector of Aghavilly who neglected to visit his parishioner~~ he said of him ~he wus a man not bard till sweep a£tar 11 •

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs Ccont,) before the house was built.

This was done so that

the builder wud know the wee people's wishes.

If the

stones set, the house wus begun, but if they wur thrown There wur lots of houses on

it wus a sign to move.

the bill a hundred years ago.

Filled with spinning

and weaving, they wur, an' care wus taken in all of them to rake the fire an' clean and tidy the hearth at The wee people wur great weavers an' helpful

night.

at times.

A '.fllrou~b-otber Qul' Bit, Sbe wus a through-other oul' bit an' none too sonsy at that, fpr it wus often said she wus given till ridin' a broom stick.

But all the same she wus come •Of

oul' resi-qente~s an' when she wus past fendin' for herself the neighbours wur good to her, an' sent the wee ones :with milk an' male many a time.

But they wur

always ai'ear~d till go in, for ,they'd heared many a - - crack they shouldn't.

An' when they thumped the du.re

their hearts wud be .in their mouths till she slithered

out till them for there wus always the chance that she m1iht not appear as herself at all, at all • .An• she wus tne last one till see the wee people bare.

Before they left the country they went till the

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs (cont.)

An' what do you think for, why they went

house to her.

till tell her they wur goin' till war.

An' she

an'

them bein' sich frien's they bid till her. says the spokesman,

we may niver be back".

11

Ann1 ,

11

An 1 she up an' she says, "Och! but ye will now.

11

An' with that she

Sure it's die I wud without ye 1 s 11 • started till yammer.

Says she,

11

1 cud niver thole the

whole winter through wi.thout news of ye' s 11 • Says be,

11

We' 11 leave ye a

sign 11 •

uAn, what will it be 11 , says she.

Keep yer blinkers on the well 11 , says he.

11

11

If

we're bayte it's bludy the water 'ill beu.

An' bludy water it wus an• she tuk a brash an' died

of heart lgneliness for them an• that wus the en• of her.

-4n' mind ye, all but she was but a wee croul of a woman, she wusn•t afeared of man or brute, even in the

bad times 'When it wus far from safe for a man till be alone•, let be a woman.

An' them that toul' me the story

of har knowed all about her and her fairy frien's.

It :was burned at qis wake.

I haared of a lone bush that was cut one winter be

a man 'Whan firing was short, be a man too that should have knowed better.

~t was burned at bis wake.

It

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs Ccont.) was a very gentle thorn - the cows would niver lie down If fother< 2 )was given to them at it they'd

under it.

ate it an' lave. 11 Tullyvallen (aged 80 odd years).

The Fairies

of Ulster.

The fairies of Ulster used to meet here for till elect their king an' for many nights it wouldn't be safe till be about.

4-n' there wur fairy cats here too.

It

wsn't wise till luk at them if ye saw them on the roads at night.

A man once coaxed one of them into a house

an' it destrqyed the place. 11 Ardmore, Lough Neagh.

The faj ry Thorn.

In that field over the road there wus the finest thorn i ver' thQugh c.1t Is wastin I now. he• ·s the one that caused it.

An I Larry HcParland,

Sure he tried till stub it

do-wn, an' wusn't he thrown right across the field till the ·very road i ts.e1.t, as many another can tell ye besides

meself.

(2)

Anr. now it will soon be down with the cattle

Feedini Stuff - hay or other such food.

-tl

11 Fairies and Fairy Beliefs {cont.) scratching it, but the divil a one wud iay han' till it otherwise, an' it in as good a field as iver wus.

Lone Bushes •• 11

Lone Bushes were left alone.

I heared of one that

was cut be the son of the house an' he went wrong in his head after - but he. might have gone that way anyhow you never know were insanity will come out. 11 Mr. Mallon, Clontygora, 1939, then aged 70.

The Fairy Funeral, 11

A man once rollowed a fairy funeral.

late at night an' beared the convoy comin'.

He wus up He slipped

out an' followed them an' they disappeared into Lisletrim ~ort.<3)

He heared the noise of them walkin~ plain but

he saw none of them.

"Jump It 11 t "A weeifeila ws goin' up till the shoemaker's one

niiht, an• he · met a drove of bullocks at the . turn-end with a fairy on ivery bullock but one.

(3)

An' the fairies stopped

A treble-rinied fort near CuJ.lyhanna.

~7~ .

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs {cont.) him an' put him on the last bullock.

An I as soon as

he had his legs clapped roun' him the procession started again an' all the fairies set off for the laugh.

An'

said they till him when ye reach the lake 11 jump it 11 •

An' they toul' him till keep his mouth shut when he'd be in the air or it wus ill-luck wud come till him.

An' one be one they riz on the bank of the lake an'

cleared it well.

But the poor wee fella, when he wus

half-way across, he yelled with fright an' blest if he didn't fall right off its back.

An' it wus nearly

drowned he wus but he got till lan' 'tween swimmin' ·and wadin' an' it wus many a long day before he wus himself again. 11

They were going to break the forth.

4 "They wur goin' to break up the forthC \n the

days of my · forebears, but when the horses and plough wur upon it, a slice of bread·was thrown right in front of them.

It wus a strange thing to happen and they

wur bothered, but a wise woman told them that if the place wus left alone the Nugents would niver want for

(I+)

Drumboy Fort. Commands an extensive view.

Famous locally because of a ballad of 26 verses written in its honour by a man who had travelled the county over 11 an 1 niver had the fire of poetry lighted in his heart until he saw the · view from Drum boy".

73.

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs (cont.) bread.

An' thank God we niver did even in the Fa.mine

time.

It wus always a right fairy place. 11

4 Crow, of Hares.

"A crowd of hares used till gather in the wee forth

at night.

11

They used till jist sit there an' even the

grue 11 (5) that cud see them well wud luk the other way.

Me gran'father himself went in once when they were there.

He saw.the lot of them in the centre of the ring.

But

wben they saw him they slipped into the sheugh of the fort.

.As soon as he left they were back on the rampar.

He was sorely bothered be them, an' one night he borrowed a- ~

an' let them have it.

An' sure as yer here the

ni.xt mc.rnitl. 1 there wu.s hardly an oul 1 woman around that -owu.sn It in bed. JI ( ~\ , 'f' . '

A man had till rise in a hurry.

MA mari J;t~d -till_rise in a hurry one night till fetch the midwi-fe woman -~ b~eij;q.sa o.f l;l.A.s wile being tuk with her - ...- - . - :: -~ -·. . ~

pains.

He went for the- woman -®'.· got her safely an'

\fhen they wur .futi:o.g it. back he wanted bar t _i ll take the .

( 5)

GreyhQumi.

(6)

Witches had the power of becomini hares when in quest of butter-, et·c.

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs (cont,> near cut.

But divil a bit of her wud.

Said she 11 the

longest way roun• at this hour is the shortest way home 11 • 11

Alriiht 11 says he, "let us both put our best fut foremost

then".

Soon they wur near the house an• sure as yer here, they heared voices an• both of them wur afeared.

11

Its

the week people mebbe 11 says she, and with that they stopped till lissen - but s0rra a long they stayed!

It ws the wee people right enough confabbin' about the chile that was comin' an• the mother herself too.

It

wus a bit of a shock to the poor man for he lacked his wife an' didn't want till lose his first wee one either.

Says the midwife woman 11 let us be away as fast as we can, if we get there before them we may gunk them yet 11 • An 1 the woman nearly died in her labour an' mebbe

the chi_le wud have done so as well, only that the midwife woman kn.owed all the charms.

I heared what she did, but

me sowl to glory if I can mind the rest of the tale an' them that cud finish the story is gone, God rest them."

Ardionnel, taken down about 1930.

10

?5 Fairies and Fairy Beliefs Ccont.} nie Fairy Hunt.

11

Two oul' men who lived in Kelly's bottom<7\,ur

sittin' at the dure one evenin' suppin' sowans when up walked two wee men in green co?ts an 1 · white caps.

They

wr wee people right enough, mebbe fairy horsemen for in the ou.l' days there wus a fairy hunt here that always ended in the forth.

An' the two oul' men wur twin

It wus a great

brothers an 1 done out of the- same bou.l. age they lived till but they're gone now. 11 _M @v a Uiiht. there :wur lights It:[

on top.

ws only a chile - I . wus not much then, but well

I ·mindheaxi~g about the wee people on Slieve Gullion.

Many a night there: ws light on top an' the wee people

cua be seen p1ain as ye like disportin' themselves aroun' the bonfires.

'fbare 1 d be scores of fires an' hundreds

of wee pa~p-le.

An' some of them wur mount_ed an' wud

ride their horses throuih the flames. ones saw them ..

Lots of the ou.1 1

I saw the fires once but didn't see the

horseman.a

Edena.ppa town.land.

(7)

Low ly1~i fields are so described in certain parts of the count,.

H.

rJG .

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs Ccont,) Grim.as oxtarco~ged with the fairies, uGrimes oxtercogged with the fairies often.

He'd

be in conversatio n with them and people would hear him talking till them, but he'd always deny it.

Many a time

goin' till the well he was heared tellin' them to keep off him.

He was a wee bit of a man and she was six feet

and he'd even deny it to her."

Thomas Quinn, Sheetrim.

The fairies of Ulster used to meet here, "The fairies of Ulster used to meet here till elect their king an 1 for many nights it wudn 1 t be safe till be

An 1 there wur fairy cats here too.

about.

It wusn 1 t

wise till luk at them if ye saw them on the roads at A man once coaxed one of them into a house an'

night.

it destroyed the place. 11 Ardmore, near Lurgan.

Elf-shot.

11

Cows were some times elf-shot when I wus wee.

Blind a llian cud cure the bother.

I

He'd take a bit of a

kindled turf from the fire be the tongs an 1 move it from Side to side an' say a bit of a prayer.

It wus then

put under the cow's nose an• she wus soon bette~.u

Bernard McCreesh, Tassaih district.

~77, Fa1ries and Fairy Beliefs Ccont,) The ;wee people were disturbed, uThe oul' people raved about the fairies all the days There was an uncle of me grandfather's.

of their lives.

He was the last of the name to live there - the whole boon

An' another party got the land.

of them died out.

An'

they pulled down the oul' walls they wur that fond of ground.

.ln' the wee people wur disturbed.

An' a shore

was interfered with an' the wee people wur in danger of

flooding.

An' a wee man appeared and said 11 stop or

something bad will happen till ye 11 •

An' ye can see the bit yet.

An' they stopped.

It has niver been touched

since."

Hughes, Knockbane, near Middletown.

Age, over 80 years.

TQe md;w:i,fe Man, uThere wus a doctor who lived long ago on the other side of the Blackwater.

He wus a midwife ·man.

One

night be wus in his bed when there wus a knock on the dure.

An 1 he pulled on he's trousers an' went down. wus a man waiting.

.An• there

.A.n 1 he · says me wife's near her time

and she will have no one in her trouble buy you.

An' he

had a carriage with him.

An'

An' the doctor got in.

-when they reachedMaghery Ferry the whole contraption went over the river without bothering the ferryman at all if ye

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs (cont,) please.

That give the doctor an inkling of the sort of

An' they crossed the Bann Foot

company he wus in.

(8)

Ferry in the same way an' near Ardmore they reached a big house.

J\.n' in the house there wus a woman in bed.

a short time after the chile was born.

An'

An' the woman

she was grateful and warned him not till take bit or sup or even money or he wud be kept for iver.

An' the doctor

did as he was toul' - only for that indeed we wud niver Sometimes too the whole of the Tyrone

have heared of it.

gentry wud be over visiting the Armagh ones.

On moonlight

ni~ts ye wud ·ha-v-e seen whole companies of them."

:-'.fhe eonay r sland Sti U

e:

:•There wus ·/a power of whiskey made on Coney in the An 1 a sonsy place it was too for the job,

v il a house there wus there then, tho~h Lord for tijia;--qi:_ .- . -.:- Chal'leymont has -e-na now.

But shure even if there wus

no house oit it at ~lt it 1 s little peace thereid be for _,..._ .

. - ··:...

.

..

-

..

.

all over the tl;ley • planted-._-_. po.l?a-~-Qar:i:-aeks the like ~,s~4!,t"' .

--. --· . ~; dacent ~\Ul~~g,Ae. .· -:....... -._. -: t=.-.•

(8)

Taken down•in-19lf-O from an old man who crossed the

Baml with me by the ferry at this po±nt.

14.

-rq, Fairies and Fairy Beliefs Ccont, ) still one night when they heared flutes and bagpipes an' mebbe a fiddle or two. both listened.

They both heared it and they

An' it cum nearer till them.

An' they

saw the wee people but they did nothing till disturb them.

An 1 always they'd leave a drop of whiskey for them an'

always it wud be gone in the morning.

An 1 them two men

had the greatest luck iver for the divil a guager iver got houl' of a sup they made.

The wee people were ay

good till them they tuk too. 11 Fishermen, Maghery, Lough Neagh.

Ages and names not taken.

The Ploughing of, the Relig.

"Shure it wus in oul' McFarland's time it wus done an' the countryside wus afeared for him, but nothin 1 happened.

An' he had the finest corn ye iver saw.

From far an' near they come till see an' wonder at it.

The heads wur as long as yer arm an' reachin' far An' one A.n' it ripened. above the walls of the Relig. evenin 1 himself an' some others wur there.

An' he says, 11

says he, ~I 1 11 cut it come the morrow if help can be got •

4n• they who wur with him promised till give a han'.

But in the morn.in' when they got there sure it wus bare as yer fist_ deil the corn or anything - not even a

17. ~D.

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs {cont,) stubble.

An' it give them such a fright they niver tried

it ~ain.

An' I remember me mother tellin' me - she's the one had all the oul' stories - but it's seldGm I listened for

I used till think the oul' people wur crazy - of someone crossing the Relig one evenin'.

An' the - music was so An' he jigged

good be cudn't keep from _steppin' till it.

till it long a.n' well till he faun' it right under he's feet.

An' then he got the fear upon him an' he hooked it

as quick as he cud.

An' it wu.s well he wus able.

An' there wus me father's sister who tuk some dry branches from the oul' fairy thorn at the foot of the bill.

She picked them to light the fire with.

But they flew

right out and cou~ed her over an• sure it wu.s well she met with no worse.

An• in SegahaJ?, river beyant, they did their wee bits of washin'.

Sure there's the purtiest pots ye iver saw,

an• they in the stones themselves - just where the river div-ides Geordie Arm~trong from Paddy .t-~cKee.

Many a time

-

I have seen them an' many a time the oul 1 people saw the

fairies washinr.u(9) Casbel, Lisnadill.

(9)

Name derives from a stone-walled enclosure.

~.

S I·

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs (cont.)

It;ie Times are Cban"ed.

11

The very childer used till be afeared till daunder

on the hill in the heel of the evenin'.

An' no wonder •

Su.re it ws said the wee people wud be dukein' in the shoughs ready till catch them. myself because of them,

Many a mallyvogin I got

An' sure the cattle themselves Ay, divil

wudn't munch a bite once darkness had come. a blade wud they let in their gubs • . as fast as they cud.

Hom~ they'd ramp

Sure it wus quare altogither.

An'

now if ye mention fairies to the wee ones they think you:1 te God, ay, the

full of whigmaieeries - or mebbe worse. times are changed.

But it's speyed ·the fairies will come

But it wus an oul' harl of bones without gumption

a.gain.

or sense who said it an I mebbe they' 11 ni ver. ll

Ha cua get no milt.

A man in Granemore cud get no good from his cows.

11

Some body wus takin' the best of the milk.

He put a

cllarge in his gll,tl one hight an' a han 1 ful of silver for

colpher. byre.

He watched an' he saw a · hare slip in till the As it come out he blazed at it.

He hit it about

the hips an' it got away, but the . country said it wus Jane Hanlon.

She wus lame after aeyhow. u Tanderagee.

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs {cont.) )l:i.tches, uwitches there were in days bygone. for that.

T'nere' s fact

'.llley were part of the times then.

Now-a-

days people are too busy with other things till be dabbling in "Black Art 11 •

I mind well the oul' people

talking of a woman that cud take butter from the cows.

She

was seen at it many a morning.

There she'd be in

the grazing trailing a rope behine her.

And that

brought ali the butter from that field till her.

And

tbe rope wasn't bay or straw mind ye but made of human ha,ir that she had gathered the country over.

cud be done about that kind of one.

0

Nothing

But there was

-ano'l;Jaer sort that ye might shoot at, the kind that went all91it as hares .on the same arn. (10)

Ye had to have a

s~lver :~.;~~for them bodies and they were plentiful toe at one time.

At was quare about the hair rope but

sure m~y a ~¥:?~ ,_h~J_>~Ued then to put the country in an uproar.

I :~~ -~~thQs:-t~that kept the whole to-wnland in - . - -- -:~~~:~· --~--~->_-:-

the house at ~pi..j~~:,_-f'gr many a lon" year, ;,but God only knOWS

Gtlµ13;g _;i._$ tl.OW. U where fl.he' : • :;h.-~- - ...

Tanderagee-Tassagh.

<10)

11

Arn 11 - errand..

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs Ccont,l He knowed aJ J. UJ:vle gran' father minded a fight at the graveyard gate between two funerals that arrived tilgi~her.(ll) It ws a hell of a scrap by he's account.

They went

for each other like Turks all because of a notion that the corpCl 2 )who was first through the gates wud hev the other bludy fella to chop and carry f or him.

PeoplB wur quare in them days - why if oul' weemin had water till throw out an' it was night, they'd be afeared to do it in case it was hurtful to some one, but whether it was ghosts or fairies taey wur afeared of I haven't a notion.

An' if .ye went for a walk in the

g~aveyard an' tripped on a grave it was bad, but heaven he],p ye .if ye spread yer length in such a spot. ) just as well go home and make yer will. (l 3_ Many

Ye might

4 a grave was hoked(l )in the oul' days, an'

not be people wantin 1. bodies for doctors at all, but be people wantin' skins for charms.

It's a pity till God

(11)

Together.

Cl2)

Corpse.

(13)

This is a fairly common belief still.

(11+)

Re-opened.

Fairies and Fairy Beliefs (cont.} ye wurn't here in me grandf~ther's time.

He knowed all.

He cud have toul ye too of the putting out of food on Hallow Eve an' many another crack as well. 11 Terryhoogan, 1928.

COUNTY

ARMAGH

HI SCELLANEA.

Greetings.

I have always been interested in the daily greetings one receives in the countryside, so much so that in 1937-1938, I decided to make lists of such as I chanced to experience in those two years.

Needless to say weather conditions figure

largely in this by no means exhaustive summary and although my attention was then chiefly confined to the Baronies of the Upper and Lower Fews it is I would say representative of the county as a whole.

Blustery Weather.

Sore day this.

Desparate day.

Soft day.

Nippy . day.

Right day.

Middling day.

Hardy mo rnin' .

Ill lookin' mornin'.

Settled day the day.

Slabbery day.

Blowey day.

Lamentable weather.

Muggy day.

Wind's very pushing.

A starving wind the day.

. Great day.

Mortal fine mornin' .

The wind's in a bad art the day .

There'll be a taste of rain th e day .

Smushy day.

Clabbery day.

Broken weather.

Spi tty morning.

Nice open day the day.

Teemy day.

Brave mornin' .

Fine day.

Right open weather.

It's a wee thought warmer the day .

It's blowing a wee thing the day .

Weather predominates as a subject for discussion in all parts of the country and we are reminded of its importance by proverbs that seem to . be on the lips ot all and sundry, such as -

A dry May and a dripping June makes a farmer's heart beat a merry tune.

A green Christmas makes a fat churchyara.(l) All the months of the year curse a fair February.

When March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb.

Wet March brings a sad harvest.

Frosts in March, frosts in May. March has many weathers.

2 March-April borrowing days.< ) March borrows three days from April, Three- days and they are ill, April borrows from March again, Three days of wind and rain.

The warm side of the stone turns up on St. Patrick's Day. Cold April - good harvest.

April showers bring forth May flowers.

April winds hurt neither hay or corn.

A cold April will bless

the year at harvest time.

Change not a clout till May is out.

Mist in May, heat in June, harvest soon.

A swarm of

bees in May is worth a load of hay.

If Candlemas Day be bright and clear there will be two winters in that year.

St. Swithin - the wet saint. rains for forty more.

If it rains on his day it

Candlemas storms and Lammas floods must come.

(1) If the six days before Christmas and the six days after are carefully noted they will show how the months of the year will behave.

(2) The March wind had almost killed the old cow so March borrowed three days from April wherein to finish the job.

As the days lengthen the cold strengthens.

When the winds from the south the rain is near.

Rain before seven, fine before elev.en.

A robin under

a bush means rain.<3)

The south wind brings warm weather, The north wind wet and cold together, The west wind always brings us rain, The east wind blows it back again.

If the cat scratches the legs of chairs or tables it is a sure sign of rain.

Soft rustling in the trees is the forerunner of rain.

Cows huddle

together before a storm.

When the 'Wind is in the west the cuckoo is in her nest.

When the dog eats grass it is a sign of rain.

When the wind comes from the east, it's bad for man and beast.

As·--~

.~Y'~s weather, so is Sunday's weather.

Rain on Sunday, rain all week.

Lt: t~-- •~k is well acorned it is a sj,gn of frosty weather.

If th~ frog wears a golden coat, the weather will be fine, ,.But •.if~_h~ _puts on his black coat rain is on the way.

A sloe :yErax. ~•i.:S- a woe year.

:.A. haw ye.a.i! ~s a: 'braw year:

A ~ing-J~ffird~he moon is a sign of coming bad weather.< 4 ) ~~~~~~~~!

.-

(3) Wheri he ls on· .top all is well. hard weather : i ,s. be~okc0i?-ed ! '(4)

When he ventures indoors

If tffij r1ii:ts: is 4ro·se- the storm is near, if distant then

-farther~·away~· ~ _

The wind from the south-west, a sign of rain.

Hens retire to shelter before rain.

Soot falling down the chimney betokens rain.

Spiders coming indoors herald~ rain on the way.

Before rain swallows fly low.

Midges swarm, the cat washes her face.

The donkey roars, crickets chirp.

When the wind's in the south it's in the rain's mouth.

January brings the snow, Makes our faces and our fingers glow.

February brings the rain and thaws the frozen loughs again.

March brings breezes loud and shrill, and scatters daisies over the hill.

February bright and clear, a good flax year.

March will search, April will try, May will tell, .whether you live or die.

COUNTY ARMAGH MISCELLAJ.~EA. 1.JJ.clh In Armagh one hears the saying that "luck sometimes wins where craft fails".

Dictionaries put the matter

even more clearly when they describe it as "that which happens seemingly by chance 11 •

It is, however, carefully

divided into two classes - ill-luck and good luck.

The

terms are still current amongst the older people of the county and the implications strangely enough have been accepted to some extent by the younger generation.

Ill-Luck.

Friday is considered unlucky and nothing important should be commenced on that particular day.

-

It is also

thought that ill-luck attaches to seeing the new moon through glass, or 11 fli tting" to a new home on Saturday. (l) This short list illustrates many aspects of the ill-fortune linked to such beliefs Unlucky - Crowing hens - must be killed.

11 To burn human hair.

II - To bestow gifts on New Year's Day.( 2 ) II To burn the wood of the Bore-tree.

II To rob swallows' nests.

II To kill the cuckoo - it brings Spring. (l) Saturday's flit is a short sit.

(2) Elderberry.

- To harm the robin.

Unlucky 11 To put dovm. a setting of eggs of even numbf;]r II To Spill salt.,3) II - To roe~ an empty cradle.

II - For a wedding party to meet a funeral.

II .

To place one's boots on a table.

II - To take cash for setting eggs (Better to have something in exchange). ll To drown a cat.

II - To begin the building of a house on Friday.

II .

To share washing water.(4) II To sit down with a party of thirteen.C5 ) II To display peacock's feathers in the ( 6) house. ll - To cut or pare nails on Sundays. ll To break or lose a wedding ring. u To have the right hand itch. (Believed to be a sign of money being lost).

II To kill a spider.

II - For the fire to burn on one side only.

II :::-To bring a spade into the kitchen.

II To lift a pin by the point or to hand one to a friend without sticking it in wood.

II To pass under a ladder. ll To · have a picture fall from the wall.

II To buy a broom in May.(7J II For Christmas Day to fall on Saturday.

II To ·have a rat cross your path. ll If a baby does not cry at baptism Devil not dislodged.

II To clO'se a spring well.

II To strike anybody with rag-weed or hawthorn. ll To bring whin or hawthorn blossom into the house.

(J) This may, however, be evaded by throwing a few grains over the left shoulder!

(It) By doing so a· friend is lost.

(5) Ill luck may be averted if no food is eaten.

(6) This evidently covers the feet also hence the saying "he who on Sunday pares a corn, it were better he was never born 11 • (7) In case it should sweep the family away.

-

.,,,.

un.LucKy - To 11 spyu a funeral through a window or door.CS) II - To not sweep the floor before churning. ll - To put on sock and boot of one foot. ll - To enter a new house by the back door.

II To put ashes out on New Year's Day. II - To straddle a creeping child in case it should turn into a 11 crowlie 11 •

Good Luck.

Fortunately there are many things under this heading to cheer us on our way.

It is lucky if your right ear burns (somebody is speaking wel~ of you).

It is lucky to have swallows nest with you. Lightning ne,rer strikes such houses. ll to· have a robin about the house. ll to meet a pie-bald horse.

II to ha,re crickets in the house. ll to lay the sheaves by the sun when building corn stacks.

II to find a horse shoe especially one from a hind leg.

II to be the seventh child of a seventh child.(9) II to meet a horse with one white leg.

II to meet a sow and a litter of pigs.

II to meet a snail with horns erect.

II to find a spider on one's coat (foretells a new suit).

II to find white specks on finger nails.

LI to ha,re your left hand itch. ( Good fortune coming).

II to be born with a caul · (Cannot meet a violent death).

II for Christmas Day to fall on a Sunday.

II to ha,re house leeks on your dwelling.

(8) In former days it was quite usual for the occupants of a house to stand outside whilst funerals passed.

(9) Such persons can effect certain cures.

It will be noticed that the ill-luck o~ens are the greater in number, but there is no need to worry unduly.

The difference probably arises from the fact that 1ve all take good luck too much for granted 11

See a pin and picl{ it up, All•tbe day you'll have good luck.

See a pin and let i t lie, And you will need it bye and bye. 11

seems to strike a middle course between the difficulties of whether one's memory is more concerned with the things to be avoided rather than those that may bring good fortune.

Do not forget, however,

rthat where there I s muck there I s

1

luck" - which is a cheerful thought to the archaeologist.

ARKAGH HISCELLAN:g:A..

Local Descrii;itive 11 Sayings 11 , Armagh descriptive localisms are a tonic.

They are

spread all over the county and portray imagination carefully blended with observational and descriptive powers of no mean order.

I am not going to attempt an introduction and shall

group my examples under titles.

Descri:pti'lle Sayings, He is past your thumb.

He knows his book.

A mouth like a torn pocket.

He hears not at that ear.

He has lost the walk.(l)

A closed mouth misses the flies.

Two

feet above a duck.

Crooked as a dog's hind legs.

He'd buy you in one field and sell you in another.

She has an eye lik~ a burnt hole in a blanket.

Tears running down their cheeks like beetles up a hill.

She· wants a square.,._o-f being

It's as true as truth's been for -a long time.

All gab and guts like a young

Born at the bladeing of the kail.

She knows -full -wail: the length of h~s shoe. - ·

He wasn't behind the door when feet wer"e given out.

He's all to one side like the handle of a jug.

There's a_ nole in his thatch.

It fits ye like a hair in the

.F.i:e.1 d talk th_e teeth out of a saw.

round~ crow.

well.

(1) Unable to get about.

(2) Becoming frail and smaller _4,n stature.

You're not sugar or salt till be melting.

If he only had an apple he'd give ye the peelings.

You won't catch him with chaff.

He's like a daddy-long-leg s on the skite.

You might as well look for blood in a turnip.

Childer and chickens must always be picking.

There's more red noses than 1nidges the day.

It might cut butter if it was hot.

He put the saddle on the right horse.

His head never saves his legs.

Brow boots and no breakfast.

And that was tbe)taking up of the weather. l3

Old fools are the worst fools.

When a patient is rich there are doctors in plenty.

Between you and me and the post.

4 Don't be there till yer back.C )

A bad excuse is better than

Ivery man's a boy till he's married. (5)

none at all.

The divil pe good to you.

Don't let the grass grow under your feet.

Houl yer gab.C 6)

Born on th~ vrrong side of the blanket.\.?)

That's only a cat's lick.

The road was not wid~ enough for his walking.\.9)

He goes a wee bit of the way with everybody. ( 8)

There's no luck in a dry bargain. ( 10)

He can handle his feet bravely.

His rearing was no better than bis schooling.

(3) The end of a scolding match.

(It) Make haste.

( 5) Old bachelors are still called

boys.

(6) Stop talking.

(7) Issue of unmarried parents.

(8) Dances well.

A. drunken man.

An excuse for a drink at markets or fairs.

,fgl

Descriptions Attached to People of Weak Intellect.

A wee\ bit foolish.

A wee bit quare in the head.

The poor soul's a wee bit cracked.

He's slightly touched.

He's daft in the head.

He's soft in the head.

He's not all there,

He has a slate off.

Sayings relating to women.

She has a good many knicks in her horn.

She's bad at fasting but the divil for prayers.

She is no chicken for all her cheeping.

She's not the sort till sell her hens on a rainy day.

She'd blind ye with talking.

She'd shake hands with a hedgehog. ( 11)

She won't tare in the plucking.

Her looks would sour milk.

She goes from house to house looking her bit.(12) A woman's

not like a book, ye can't always shut her up when ye want.

She's the sort that if axed to a wedding would wait for the christening.

A whistling maid and a crowing

hen would raise the divil out of his den.

It's a poor house where the hen outcrows the cock.

(11) An effusive, insincere person.

(12) Begging. /

,

A bachelor has a loose leg.

A bad reaper blames the scythe.

An old man is but a bed of

What's a gentleman but his pleasure.

bones.

A well langled man.(l3)

Don't turn your tongue on me.

Many a man ties a knot with he's tongue that his teeth will never loosen.

He's hard till insense.

Hone~men marry young, wise men not at all.

If ye want till overtake him ye'll rise ea!l y .

What's the use of a farm to a man if his-wife's a

For a lucky man the pot will boil without a fire.

He was in his feet (barefooted).

widdy.

Babies. their heads cool and their bottoms dry.

Keep

He's the spit of himself.

(Like his father).

Fighting Terms.

Country rafii)and country pubs produced most of these.

There you will still bear stock expressions such as If it's a leathering ye want I'm yer man.

I'll make ye smell brimstone for that.

I cud lick the seed, breed, an' generation if ye.

I'll wipe yer neb an' it won't be with a hankie.

Your big man but a wee coat will fit ye.

I'll make ye scratch where ye have no itch.

A'll lave yer mouth like a torn

If ye turn yer tongue on me I' 11 brain ye.

pocket.

Pile yer duds me.boy. (lJ) Dominated by his wife.

(l~) Alas almost extinct.

These remarks are emphasized by friends who hasten to encourage the quarrel by shouting Give him a sother on the lug.

He wants his snout wiped.

Let him have it - warm the wax in his lug.

There are also the peacemakers whose advice to 11 let him cool in the skin he warmed in" is seldom taken.

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA., 11

0:Jnes 11 and 11 Charms 11 ,

These remedies for certain illnesses may seem absurd to the people of to-day, but one can be certain that in the not so distant past they were considered normal practice.

Indeed according to county tradition "doctors

were few in the oul' days and only them that had the money bothered with them 11 •

There was also the fact that in

the 18th century doctors and surgeons were credited with "man-handling the dead", and stories still survive in certain parishes as regards means taken to prevent bodysnatGhing.

This attitude to doctors was still apparent

in the late 18th century when County Infirmaries came into being, and it was commonly believed that in such institutions the surgeons had no interest in any form of illness uun1ess they cud get at ye with a knife".

This

was indeed seriously believed in until the beginning of the 19th century.

Tbe·se few notes on ueures 11 do not by any means cover the subject, in so far as the county is concerned.

A

much longer list could easily be compiled.

Most of these exalllples were noted in the period 1928-1939.

This cure for Erysipelas was given to me by

an old lady·in the townland of Annahaia -

11

It might take ye anywhere, but.it's a gentle

thing - a very tentle thing - an' the cure is one the doctors know nothing of.

Your head might swell up

big an' red as anything.

The Lord save me from having

it again and keep ye from it too.

I was tuk till the bog-hole, but I first went till the doctor.

An' he says, says he,

It 1 s some oul'

1 L

woman ye want.

It's she will tell ye what to do. 11

He ws Dr.

father an' a quare civil man.

I mind

the lot of them an• sure the world an• all knowed me.

I'm the oul' standard I am, an' I niver lay off me work yet, even when I had me ankle sprained in the flax -

there's no dirty blood in me or anything like that.

But the Rose - God save ye from it.

It wus in me

. face -I had it an' it wus in a tarrable rage. ye, ye cud take it anywhere;

But mind

in yer legs or in yer feet.

But sure it wus in me face I tuk it.

An' the cuxe wus

a boy an' a girl whose father an' mother wus living', an' nine wee stones from off the road.

It wus Peter tuk me

an' we went till the oul' Red Bog at Larry's an' Peter

threw a stone in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, an' then lifted water an' bathed me face.

Then

he stuck in his han' in the bog-hole an' brought out a poultice of bog-mud that ws placed on the spot, an' sure in the mofnin' it ws gone.

_ An' I wus big then, a near

crow ,1r1, but I mind it well. 11

~ (00

Another cure, this time from Ballintaggart in the northern end of the county, records different treatment.

It states that -

"Two boys with a father and mother living went to the person who had the charm.

After that the boys were

given three horse-shoe nails to drive into some immovable portion of the house, in which the person affected lived.

One boy drove them in half-way, the other completed the Usually the nails were driven into a beam in the

task. kitchen.

If the sufferer was a man two girls went for

the charm. u In the above house I was shown the heads of three nails in a beam by which the owner said his sister had been cured, and learned that a neighbour had a charm for ringworm - this I unfortunately neglected to investigate.

Warts can be cured in many ways.

Most of us have

heard that those troubled with th~ have tried rubbing them with freshly killed red meat.

Having done so they

bury the meat and as it decays the warts disappear.

Wart wells and snails are also cures.

They both figure

in the undernoted taken down in Toe Gap of the North in which many battles were fought from the Cattle Raid of Cooley to the invasion of Bruce -who was crowned King near

"IF. {OI .

Dundalk in 1316 and shortly afterwards fell a Faughart nearby - the bir~hplace of St. Brigid.

All down the

centuries until the days of _Elizabeth the First it has been a 11 Gap of Battl~su.

The little fortress of the

Moyry was built in 1601 by ~ountjoy, and captured by

the Irish in 1641 and in 1689 the troops of James and William passed through in succession to the conflict But to return to the warts.

This is

Is it the Wart Stone at Kilnasagart?

An' shure

at the Boyne. the story 11

I know it well.

It's an oul 1 sstone wid a hole in it

that wud be good for warts.Cl)

But shure Thomas

Mallon used till be able till cure them as well.

He

jist come down an' said 11Kate, here's a penny 11 an' I niver had a wart since, thank God, for it 1 s they's the quare articles. people both. yer wart.

11

He cud do it with childer an' big He wud give ye a pe_nny an 1 say I'll buy

He was Paddy's father that is now in bed. 11

A wee black snail will cure them too.

Cut it

.

open ye must an• rub it on the wart, an' then ye stick it on a thorn, an' as it withers away, away goes yer

(l)

Edank.nappagh townland near Jonesborough, in a field alongside the famous Pillar Stone of

Kilnasaggart, a monument dating back to 714 A.D.

12· to-2. . wart.

Ye

I tried it meself once an' it is a sure cure.

must meet it on tbe way an' pick it up.

good watever till look for it. like them cures.

It's no

But doctors don't

They'd like that people snouldn't

.mow about them 11 • I shall now mention briefly some further Cures and Charms.

1.

C'qin-Cough,

•1To cure this it is necessary to

find a man and his 11;ife -who both had toe same surname before marriage.

Children affected

are then sent for some griddle-bread which must not be paid for and must be given with a blessingu.

2.

Toothache,

uprocure a nail from a blacksmith in

God's name and bury it at the roots of a hawthorn bush".

3-

A Stye,

11

Can be cured by a person whose 11.other' s

maiden name is the same as -that borne by her T'ne cure is made by pricking the stye

husband.

with a thorn from a gooseberry bush."

l+.

Warts,

11

lf washed in water used to cool black-

smith irons they will perish. 11

5.

&prajns,

happeDing.

11

An eel skin bracelet prevents such

There is, however, a charm as well.

~Jo'?>.

6.

To stop bleedin~. the cut.

7.

Take a cobweb and place it on

Blood will then cease to flow.

Whoopin~ Cou~h.

Go to a house where husband and

wife have the same surname and ask for bread, butter and sugax.

It is essential to ask for

the three things.

8.

Burns.

Find a mankeeper and lick its belly three

times in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

After that the person doing so will be

able to cure a burn by licking it.

A dog's tongue cures burns and cleans wounds.

9.

Mumps,

Sufferers from this complaint were taken

to drinking places used by the farm horses to which they paraded wearing horses winkers.

There

they swallowed three mouthfuls of water in the name of the Father·, Son and Holy Ghost.

It seems

to have been usual to be silent on the way to the water-hole and back.

{f!ie.

I O.l\-, AHEAGH NI SCELL,ANEA,

Harriaiie Customs.

Marriages in country: districts half a century ago were much more lively affairs than they are to-day.

It was

customary then ( and indeed· until comparati;rely recently) that such eirents were practically holidays for the younger people of the immediate district.

Huge crowds would

gather at the church and after the ceremony the bridegroom was held captive until e,rentually ransomed by a contribution of money for drinks, and if there was a school adjoining then it was necessary for the poor man to provide sweets for tbe children as well.

This, of course, interrupted work on

the farm and played havoc with the school curriculum for that particular day.

In passing I may mention that the

sweets chosen by the children were always of a type known as "conversation lozenges", as they bore mottoes considered suitable for the occasion.

At that time farming folk did not indulge in honeymoons.

The custom then was to drive to the nearest town, have lunch, and parade the streets in couples, viewing the shop windows and possibly slipping into one of the more attractive 11 houses of call 11 .(l)

(l)

The real fun of the day, however, came later.

Licensed premises.

~tu5.

On the return home the wedding party were greeted with "bonefires 11 <2 )at the bride's house, and refreshments were distributed.

There was, of course, much horseplay and

occasionally accidental fires,due to the wind carrying spar~s from the bonfires to the haggards or thatch.

The weddings

described above were those of the descendants of the English .

and Scotch settlers which were indeed dull happenings in contrast with native celebrations of matrimony, an aspect which can best be illustrated by an abstract from Donaldson's "Historical and Statistical Account of the Barony of Upper Fews". (3) 11

The acqB.aintance and courtships of the parties often

commence and are carried on at fairs, patrons and other public places of rural sports and amusements, and at wakes, funerals , &c., from whence they run away together - that is, the male brings the female to one of his friends or relations house.

This was heretofore sometimes accomplished by force, but the custom is now nearly abolished, owing to the laws in that respect being frequently enforced, and to their priests charging extra fe-es for the marriage of the offenders.

Shortly after the running away, as it is termed, some of the female's relatives follow after her, and negociations commen ce (2) Bonfires.

(3) Compiled by John Donaldson in 1818 and enlarged and brough t

l!P to date in 1838. Printed and published 1923 by W. T.empe s t, .IJUndalk; see pages ,64-b6.

:±.

106 .

respecting the match, which often terminate by the female's unhappy father being obliged to promise more portion than his abilities will allow, in order to preserve the reputation of bis daughter.

The match being agreed upon and the day

appointed for the wedding, the intended bride is permitted to return home to her father's house, where a scene of preparation commences for the wedding dinner;

which, among

the poorer classes generally consists of bruised potatoes and flour, and a profusion of bread and butter, as the females invited to the wedding, if the parties be poor, generally bring large quantities of oatbread and 11 meskans 11 or rolls of butter with them.

On the day appointed for the wedding, if the priest's residence be not convenient, the bridegroom's party, which generally consists of from ten to twenty of his relations after regaling themselves at the bridegroom's, mount their horses, 1 the women behind the men, except a few of the latter that are single and intend running for the bottle, and advance towards the bride's residence, where they are met by a few single horsemen belonging to the bride's party.

When the parties meet those of them that are single-mounted then contend for who will be at the bride's house first; were, when the parties arrive, the bridegroom and bride

1 The weddings of the poorer classes are similarly conducted, but the parties go on foot.

are presented (generally by the bride's mother or some other ancient matron) with a plate of oatmeal and salt, of which each of them take three small mouthfulls;

probably

to prevent the power of witchcraft or the effect of an evil eye.

After this the bride and bridegroom's parties (the

former being often as numerous as the bridegroom's, besides ancient people who remain at home) mount their horses, and the whole then join in one grand cavalcade, the van being led by the bridegroom;

the bride riding behind the brides-

man, until they reach the alehouse most convenient to where the priest lives;

which, as Burns says, is seldom wanting,

and which receives the joyful guests, who cheer their spirits with a hearty glass before the performance of the ceremony.

After tying the indissoluble knot, whichever of the new married couple first rises after the nuptial benediction, will, it is considered, live longest, or perhaps have the ruling of the house, as it is believed to portend in some Departments of France;

the bridegroom and bride often

contend for this, and are assisted by their parties to rise; after this scene is over, they again adjourn to the public house, where a considerable time is spent in drinking plenteous potations of whiskey, after which the company again mount their horses, the bride being then changed '

behind the bridegroom's man, and scamper away towards the

lv9 .

bride's house, whilst numbers of people are collected on the hills and eminences to behold the race for the bottle.

The winning of the bottle is frequently contended

for between the bridegroom's and the bride's parties; the first person that arrives at the bride's house is victorious.

The victor then receives the bottle and

again returns to the main body of the wedding, where he hands it to the bridegroom, who first drinks of it and hands it to his bride, who also partakes, it then goes round until near finished, when it is handed back to the bridegroom, who flings it with the remaining contents a considerable distance, where it is generally broken.

On their arrival at the bride's house a cake of oatmeal or flour, which is called the bride's cake is broken over the bride's head, and is greedily seized upon by young people of both sexes for the purpose of placing a portion of it under their pillow, in order that they may dream of Another scene of noisy festivity and drunkenness then commences, 1 which often

their future partners in life.

terminates in riot and bloodshed between the different parties;

there being frequently a kind of rivalry among

them in S'tlpporting the dignity of the bridegroom and bride, particularly i f th~__Y do ·not happen to be of one

1It is usually the bridegroom provides the spirits on these occasions.

line of ancestors.

This is the manner, the generality

of the courtships and weddings of the descendants of the native Irish are conducted;

but there are many instances

where more prudent and rational modes are adopted, particularly by the descendants of the British and Scotch settlers, who in some measure retain a portion of their national customs, manners, &c. 11 The above account was written almost 150 years ago but folk traditions live lon~.

In Carli ss townland in

the Fews I took down (circa 1930) the following story.

My informant was an old man of 86 and he had no knowledge

of Donaldson's 11 Fews 11 though it had been available from 1923.

"There was a time when the boys and girls of Cross had more spirit in them than they hev now. if a fella wanted a girl he tuk her.

In them days

It wus aisy to do.

He grabbed her comin' from the chapel, or maybe a wake,

4 or the two of them migb t go off from a blaye-berryin' . ( ) After that th~re'd soon be a weddin' for indeed the gerl's

people wud t-ell her till agree, to save her caracter.(5) Weddin' s in them days too wur weddin' s - an I mind ye (4) This refers to the annual blayberry festival in the townland of Armaghbrague which still takes place on t..h.e -1ast Sunday in July and first Sunday in August and is chiefly attended by the young people.

( 5) Character.

them days are not so long ago - an' well worth seein'. 'lbem that bed sidecars loan~d them or brought them and them

that had no sich conveyances, went astride their pony or horse an' the crowd foliowed on fut.

There'd be a great

6 party at the bride's house an' bonefires,C )in the evening.

A man with a bunch of daughters wus niver · out of debt an'

if he left a son, the poor fella niver had a chance, for the wake an' funeral of the oul' man wus a drag on him for the rest of his life.

But it wus great fun an' I mind

sich things when I wus a boy.

I heared me mother tell bow up till her time, the bride in ivery family had a special oaten cake · baked for her an' well barned be her mother.

It wus called the

bride's marriage cake an' wus broke on her head when she come back till the house.

The bits wur all gathered up be

the younger ones an' they slept on them same as foolish people do -the day, thinkin' they'll draim of them they'll splice with. ( ?)

Weddings are less interesting now-a-days.

It is still,

however, considered lucky to throw old shoes after the happy pair but modern custom inclines to tie them to the car.

Such fires are (6) Bonfires - locally called 11 bonefires 11 • ~airly common still but the custom is dying out.

(7) Marry.

When I was a boy rice was always scattered and there was barley or flour for a bridegroom who had tarried too long in the wooing.

After the wedding comes the baby!

I well remember

hearing an old man say to a young man who had been some time married loom 11 •

11

1 c;lID glad to lmow there I s a child in the

When I asked what on earth he meant there was

considerable embarrassment, made worse indeed by the fact that I threatened to go immediately and ask two old spinsters who lived nea~ each of whom had a loom.

With

regard to coming events in that line is the expression "I am sorry for your troubleu.

The above story is not so informative as that given

by Donaldson but it provides evidence that the wedding

customs in question were still remembered as late as 1930, though by then many years extinct.

Proverbs and rhymes relating to marriage are plentiful and indeed illuminating.

In the county, we are given some

excellent advice on the subject.

Probably other counties

are equally well informed for we are told that•~he bridegroom must never see the bride in her wedding dress until he sees her in church 11 and that 11 to change the name not

the letter, is to change for worse and not for better 11 •

We are also given advice on the choice of the day Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health ' Wednesday the best day of all Thursday for losses, Friday fQ~'crosses , And Saturday no day at all.'~) Other abstracts from my note books say Marry in May and rue the day.

Lucky is the bride the sun shines upon.

Marry in haste and repent at leisure.

Happy is the wooing that ' s not long a-doing.(9) Marry your daughters early lest they marry themselves.

Marriages and hangings are matters of luck.

There 's more till marriage than four bare legs in a bed.

Wedlock is padlock.

He who marries for loYe has good nights but sorry days.

Never marry money but marry where money is.

Short pleasur e - long lament.

Those who do not find partners are looked upon with a kindly form of contempt and as one goes about the countryside you hear old bachelors being encouraged to wed.

11

0ch shure ye might as well be a man as a boy" is something

I have frequently heard, also the expression 11 be has a rag

(8) Could this have any bearing on to-day's matrimonial problems?

(9) This seems a contradictio n of the advice given in the

Previous line.

10 .

II 3.

on ivery bush 11 • as well.

As for the girls they come under comment

Elderly spinsters are still girls and if too

advanced in years are said 11 to have missed their market 11 and their contemporaries of the male sex are warned 11 that oul ' coortin ' is coul ' coortin'.

11

Troubles we are told

niver come singly as the man said when his wife died on

him an ' the hen layed away 11 , the last trouble being the worst of all.

1111-· COUNTY

ARMAGH HI SCELLA.NL,

Funeral Qustoms.

In the county up until very recent years 11 open house" following death was general.

The custom known as 11 the

wake 11 was an essential feature especially in Roman Catholic families, where tradition allowed social activities such as games, etc., which at times degenerated into actual rowdyAs regards othe_r denominations there was the same

ism.

hospitality as to refreshments, with visitors coming to pay their_ nrespect to the corpse" and express sympathy with the bereaved.

Games were not, howe,rer , approved of in such

homes and indeed no longer take place in Roman Catholic households either, owing to the now almost universal practice f

of removing ~he remains as soon as possible to the Church, there t .o await burial on the arranged day.

Wake games are, however, now extinct in so far as the

county is concerned.

The following note was taken down in

Lisnadill ~arish in 1928 and is representative of various other accounts.

My informant

was then aged 80 and stated

that "Wakes wur dreadful capers when I wus a boy.

After

the corpse wud be washed the two big toes wud be tied together an' the body wud be put in under the table.

Great God, the games there'd. be an' some of the biggest blackguard songs ye iver heared. lots of them.

An' there'd be games,

2-.

,,s: A girl wud come out an' sit on a chair an' she wud pick a boy.

An' that fella wud hev to sing to her.

An' he'd make the song himself an' mebbe he'd make her blush as well.

In another game a man went down on his knees an' stuck his head atween another man's legs. bis han'd behine his back. trade he wud choose.

He then put

Then somebody axed him what

Mebbe he wud be a tailor.

An' the

man whose legs his head wud be atween an' another the head Tbe

of the games wud agree to the tool that wus wanted. crowd then choose tools.

An' he got a right clout for

ivery tool he axed for until somebody give him the one agreed upori.

Then that man went in an' the game begun

all over again an' mebbe he wud be a blacksmith or some other thing.

rt · cud last for hours there'd be so many

tools to bring.

There wus another game called 11 Boult the Brouge 11 • The players sat in rows.

The Brogue wus passed an' ye

had to guess who had it.

There wus real bad work at wakes sometimes. a man called Paddy Harla an' he died. player.

I kn.owed

He wus a bag-pipe

I mind him as well as if he had lived yisterday.

There wus all sorts of tricks at his wake.

A fella duked

· ~

//6 under the bed an' when no one wus lookin' he put the piper sittin 1 up in bed, he wus left sittin'. priest.

Then the lights went out an'

After that somebody went for the

He came down an' went in in the dark an' the

pipes wur on the flure an 1 the bellows full.

An' he

stud on them an! they give an' unearthly squeal. two ticks he wus up th'e house.

11

That 1 s not a mortal

at all 11 says he 11 but the divil himself". plai zed after.

11

In

He wusn't

But them capers wur common then.

An 1 there i.-rus a game called 11 Juryu.

A man stud

behine yer back an 1 he put a han 1 over yer eye an 1 a lighted candle afore ye. called 11 Justice 11 •

The man with the candle wus

A don 1 t know how it went, but a do

know that less than 50 years ago three girls got good husbands ·at such a wake in Co. Armagh. 11 In the same year I took down a story relating to funerals that happened to reach the churchyard at the same hour and on the same day. · The location in this instance was Terryhoogan in the parish of Ballymore and the narrator He a very old man, possibly approaching 90 years of age. had this to say about such an event 'IMe gran'father minded a fight at the grave-yard gate It wus a between two funerals that arrived tilgither. hell ot a scrap be he 1 s account.

They went for each other

like Turks an• all because of a notion that the corp who wus first through the gates wud hev the other bludy fella to chop and carry for him.

People wur quare in them

days - why if oul' weemin' hed water till throw out an'

it wus night, they'd be afraid to do it in case it wus

hurtful to someone - but whether it wus ghosts or fairies . they wur afeared of I hevn•t a notion.

An' if ye went

for a walk in the graveyard an' tripped on a grave it wus bad, but Heaven help ye if ye spread yer length in such a spot.

Ye might just as well go home an I make yer will. (_l)

Many a grave was hoked in the oul' days, an' not be people wantin' bodies for doctors at all, but be. people wantin' skins for charms.

It's a pity to God ye wurn•t here in

me gran 1 fatber 1 s time.

He knowed all.

He cud have toul'

ye too of the puttin 1 out of food on Hallow Eve an' many another crack as well. u In the ~:anty'~tu!ttiLcompa.;vatively recent days the north sides of all the older graveyards were avoided.

It

was supposed that only people wbo met with untimely ends or had died without the blessing of the church should be buried therein, ( 2 ) or unbaptized children. and suicides, though they (1)

This is a common belief.

(2) Local tradition relates that Brian Boru having died Without the blessing was interred on the north side of the Great Church of Armagh f'ollo'Wing the battle of Clontarf in 1011+. .

.r;.. t IS. were usually interred at cross roads.( 3) There is a stone in Lurgan parish cemetery (better known by its old name of Shankill) inscribed "The Reverend Al'thur Forde, Rector of this Parish, Died the 24th of

December, Seventeen hundred and Sixty seven, in the sixtysixth year of his age and is interred on the north side of the churchyard, agreeably by special appointment of his will, in order as he himself expresseth it, to remove superstitious imagination which prevails among many, that such part is profane and unholy 11 •

This did not, however,

have much effect at the time and not until at least a centUl'y later were the northern portions of our more ancient graveyards brought into general use.

Forewarnings of death were plentiful and indeed some such beliefs still exist, such as the certainty tbat death is near when signs such as those noted below are in -evidence.

Rooks deserting the rookery.

Bird tapping at a window at night.

A cock crowing at night.

A dog

crying at night.

f3} One such burial in Teemore townland is commemorated on o.s. Sheet 13 as "Corner's Grave".

According to tradition the unfortunate man took his own life and was refused burial in the graveyard of the Presbyte~ian Meeting House at Aghory nearby.

Bees swarming and leaving hives.< 4 ) A magpie coming to the door.

Crickets leaving the house.(5) The sinking of a newly occupied grave foretells an early death in the same family, and it is commonly believed that a person who is ill and 11 keeps picking at the bed-cloth es will not recover".

This short story illustrat es another type of warning.

Them walls above ye wus once as sonsy a house as in the two Fathoms.

An 1 indeed, that 1 s not so many long years 11

An' when the woman of the house lay a-dyin 1 I wus there with others, an' in the night there wus three since.

loud knocks.

We wus sore afeared an' hoped she didn't

hear it, but she did, an' said, said she, it's the night I'll git away. 11 did.

11

I 1m thin kin'

An. 1 right enough she

An' the night after, the music of the pipes wus

An' heared all aroun-' the house be all that wus there. we knowed it wus well with her sowl because of the tunes

(4) I have also been told that in certain families it was customary for some member to convey the news of an approacbi ns death to the bees. ( 5) In 1926 in the townland of Ballymacn.ab I was told by an old friend that 11 crickets never died or stayed in a house where death was and that was as true as night Strangely enough I have personal follows the day 11 • knowledge of at least one house in County .Armagh where a migration of crickets took place just previous to the death of the owner.

that wur played.

God be with you an' I when we travel

down the last long road. 11 Up to the end of the last century a recognized ritual was observed in connection with death.

Friends,

especially relatives, were informed immediately by messengers sent specially to all those whose presence was desired at the funeral and instructions given that the sad news should be relayed generally to the public on the way.

That, of course, still operates to some

extent but usually such matters are dealt with by insertions of obituary notices in the daily papers.

In the

household itself mirrors were covered, clocks stopped and blinds drawn but so far as I am aware clocks are no longer silent on such occasions.

If a visit took place to the

bereaved household in daylight one often heard the expression ncorpse-house 11 but the term 11 wake-house 11 meant night.

There was also a general appellation known

as the 11 birl-houseu which seemed to cover day or night, Funerals have, of course, changed in character.

Very often now-a-days they are strictly private functions with only a few persons present.

I remember as a boy

seeing funerals with sometime_s from 80 to 100 traps and

Jaunting · cars preceded by the hearse and a few mourning

8.

121 . coaches.

Now, motor cars have replaced horse-drawn

transport.

If there were two ways to the graveyard

it was customary to proceed by the longest route that particular custom is still prevalent, and an old superstition associated with burials was the belief that 11 happy was the corpse that was sprinkled with rain on the way to its last resting place 11 • <6 ) 'When mentioning forewarnings I forgot to deal with the 11Banshee 11 •

In Seagahan townland an old man had

this to say about that now very elusive supernatural manifestation 11

I saw the Banshee when oul' Boyle's mother died.

I wus comin' home in the dusk with a load of sods, an' the oul' gray h9rse an me m~ther with me. till me, son".

11

An' says she

Some poor woman has lost her man or mebbe a

An' the thing wore a shroud as if it had come

from a corfin, an' its hair wus streamin' in the wind.

We both saw it. mebbe two.

An' me mother, she said a pray:r or

- 11 That's the Banshee 11 , says she.

Ay, it

cried for many an ou.1 1 family here, an' some say it's one that has gone before.

Be

that as it may, no human

heart cud utter such grief, so, mind ye, I doubt it. 11

(6) I first heard the tradition at my great-grandfather's funeral in 1896.

He died in that)year aged 86 and although I was then only eight years old"wasAhis eldest greatgrandson and therefore- present at his burial.

In the adjoining town.land of Ballymacnab I was told a similar story by an even older friend who spoke of the Banshee as follows:11

I 've heard it.

McParlands too.

It follows us, an' it follows the

I've heard it aroun' this very house.

It cried for our Arthur, an' Barney O Toole heared it too.

That wus in 1 85.

I niver saw it, but there's them tbat

say it's like a wee woman.

It's some kind of spirit,

I'm thinkin' , mebbe a kind of the wee people. 11 In Creggan parish I noted several accounts.

There

the Banshee followed old native families only but in other parts of the Fews it was linked as well with descendants of the Scotch settlers of Plantation Days.

This brings to mind a uwake" story from that particular parish.

"A wake wus a wake in the oul' times, an' so wus a funeral.

The corp wus drest in he's best an' kept open

house for nearly a week afore he wus put till bed with a shovel.

Plenty of whiskey there wus an' gran' stuff at

that.

An' on the day of the funeral there wus more an'

more, lashin's an' leavin's, for iverybody.

An' all the

dacent weemin' of the whole towrtlan', an' more, turned out till cry for him.

Ye'd have heared them for miles."

1~3 .

COUNTY ARMAGH MISCELLANEA Mass Gardens and Mass Roets These survivals are relics of the Penal days and although such sites must have been plentiful in the past, "they are now but folk memories.

In the county generally at that period, priests aJ;Jd bishops if found celebrating Mass were liable to imprisonment or transportation.

Many stories of such

events are still related, one of the most interesting and qest _-remembered being that of the Rev. Patrick Donrt.elly,_ ~.D., who was born circa 1649 and ordained pri~st in 1673 by the ill-fated Archbishop Oliver Plunkett.

Dr. ?onnelly was for a time Vicar-General and Administrator : of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Armagh, a

he retained after his appointment to the p<?St\~{J.i ....... . _

~~hopric of Bt.omo_re in 1697, and ;indeed until Dr. Hugh McMahon ·was C(?Dsec:i--ated Archbishop of Armagh in 1714.

¥itrf-h1s~con:Ii~_c-;ti'e n with Armagh he re sided chiefly at Corl'i~lagh:/ .a<-~ 1 townland now known as Doctor's ,Quarters,

~bou,t_one- m.ilEi distant from Lislea Chapel on

the way to C:i'oS.SU14g~en.

!he 11Doc-tor_n· survives in local tradition as 1tthe Bard of Armagh" an appellation due to his presence at

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks (cont). fairs and markets in the role of a wandering minstrel.

When at such assemblies he arranged for Masses in secluded glens and woods.

This little story illustrates his place in tradition, especially around Camlough, Crossmaglen, Mullabawn and especially Doctor's Quarters, where you 'Will hear in conversation that 11 the Bard of Armagh was a great man.

He was no less than a bishop.

He

lived in Penal Days and went about as a fiddler.

He'd be at markets and fairs all over the county and from after midnight he'd have Masses in out of the way places in South Armagh 11 • This list of Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks is, of course, very defective, but it does show that in the county generally such places were pretty common - some indeed were still in evidence as late as 1813 - see under Tynan.

Annacram,p.

Mass Garden near present chapel.

Tradition states

that Mrs. Cope of DrumillY, driving into Armagh, was so shocked by seeing her own tenants in wintry weather at Mass in the open that she immediately provided them with a site for a chapel.

This has now been deserted.

J..

I 2.5"·

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks Ccont.)

Ballyargan.

Mass Rock in above townland on the Turly farm.

J2allyma cnab.

Mass Rock on O'Toole farm in above townland.

Carnally.

A Mass Rock used here in Penal times.

(Informant

Mr. Devlin, Cullyhanna).

Carrickcro:i;,;pan.

Mass Rock in above townland near village of Camlough.

Cayandoogan.

Before the present chapel was erected in 1826 (on the site of a somewhat earlier edifice) the faithful heard Mass in a secluded corner of a plantation, the remnant of which may still be seen at the rear of the building - see History of Tynan Parish, by Thomas Hughes, p.100.

Cladymore.

Mass Garden site near present chapel, on bank of small stream.

Dru,mcree Farish. ''Mass Box formerly kept and used in Foy Lane in Drumcree Parish 11 •

(Tradition gives no other particulars).

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks (cont.)

Urwnilly, near Nountain House.

"Mass Rock Garden 11 Site lllarked by a granite cross and an inscribed slab in September 1952.

There is a "Relig" near the above Mass Rock, on the farm of Mr. Peter MacParland and there is a tradition as to a church site.

isb:wary.

Cross-inscribed stone in field fence situated under a thorn bush is said to mark 11 a place where Mass was said in the past".

~The Altar Well.

Tradition states that Mass was

frequently celebrated at this spot previous to the

building of the chapel in1786.

Keenahan .

R. c. Altar shown in above townland on side of road from Charlemont to Loughgall.

See o.s. Maps, Sheet 1835.

K;iltµbrit.

Site of a Mass Garden.

Shown on Rocque 1 s Map of

County Armagh 1760.

Lisaa, an.

Near Lisadian Bridge, there was a Mass Garden.

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks Ccont,) Local tradition asserts that Friar McGurk was caught celebrating Mass there and was killed.

The present

road through the glen was not then in existence.

1,,pngfield.

A Mass Garden in above townland near the village

of. Forkhill.

Site kno-wn locally.

Maghery.

Mass Garden near to present Chapel in a clump of trees midway between Maghery Diamond and the Ferry.

H11 1Jynure.

Mass Garden.

See Down~y MS., Christian Brothers'

School, Armagh.

Raugbljp.

A small stone building in the Forde demesne used by a Father Byrne, P.P., until about the end of the 18th century.

The original walls now form part of a barn on the

Forde property.

It is believed to have been in use until

the building of a church at Derrym.acash in 1825.

The

Mass House in question is said to have been mentioned in

a local directory in 1813.

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks (cont.)

Shane~li sh.

Mass Garden or Mass Rock near the Adair farm.

~On a rocky eminence on the northern end of ridge running from north to south there is an ancient enclosure in which Mass was celebrated in Penal Times, and on the opposite side of the road is the site of a little Franciscan Friary.

The Mass Garden is known

as Carrickahiffrin .

Tanoaghmore.

Mass Garden on the land of Mrs. John McConville (Lurgantarry).

The spot is said to have been in

frequent use from the time of Cromwell till the year · 1800 when Lord Lurgan's ancestor Mr. Brownlow gave the Catholic's an old disused mill in Dougher townland.

A small shed or "'bobog" affording shelter for the

celebrant stood in this garden.

Tartara~han.

Local tradition states that there was a chapel here that was destroyed immediately following the battle of the Diamond in 1795, an event that did not occur until the summer of 1797 - see Belfast News Letter 14 July 1797.

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks Ccont.)

James Verner of Church Hill was accused of encouraging

the Yeomanry and Orangemen to fire at it but made a spirited denial saying it was not many years since he had contributed to the building of it.

In the years between 1797 and the building of Eglish Chapel in 1825, Mass was celebrated in the open in a wooden structure called the Mass Box.

In that

period during political troubles the Mass Box was burned.

It is reputed to have occupied the site of the present Presbyterian Church of Tartaraghan.

TulJyah, near carrickananny Chapel.

Reputed Mass Garden on the farm of Mr. James Burns.

TµllJrard.

Mass Rock.

Situate on the bank of the River Callan

just outside the city of Armagh.

:rul l j naval.

"Mass was celebrated in this townland on a farm (now

1955) belonging to Miss Maggie !nn Donaghy daughter of Patrick Donaghy.

The place was known as the 11 bohog 11 or

little hut."

(Informant Mr. Devlin, CUllyhanna.)

~

/30

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks Ccont,)

Tµllymore, near Armagh city.

A Mass Garden was si tua.te in a small clump of thorns

on the right hand side of the avenue leading up to Tullymore House, commonly called Tullymore Park.

Different owners of the property have preserved the spot and also a reputed font said to have been found there.

Tradition stated there is an old chalice buried in or near 11 The garden't in earlier days was on the Mass Garden. the ancient road from Armagh to the South which crossed the Callan by 11 st. Patrick's Highway" keeping east of the Saint's Well and across country to join a still older road that ran from Enain Macha southwards.

Tullywinny.

Mass Garden

called the "Priest's Garden 11 on the

farm of Mr. P. McKeown.

These two accounts illustrate the form of folk memories that remain with regard to these links with the past.

The Mass Bush at Dorsey. ·

11

1

A gentle thorn sheltered the altar an' there wus

great anger over the cutting of it.

He who owned the

land in the oul' days wudn 1 t have had it happen for (1)

The Bard-Bishop 1s said to have celebrated Mass here.

Mass Gardens and Mass Rocks {cont.) hundreds of pounds.

people.

But he is dead now an• all his

.An' it's well for shure it wud have vexed

him till the heart.

He wus a Carragher, an' it wus

he lime-washed the White Stone each year in the Spring, but since he died it gets none. 11 The Mass Garden at FaTlagh. 2 It wus aye a gentle place.

The finest gentry

bushes in the county are there.

Three of them made

11

a chapel in the oul' days ana Mass wus said there many a time.

There wur wee steps up an' a place for the

blessed altar, but now shure its the cattle do be tram.pin• it over - it's hard till keep them off it.

The bushes are hundred of years of age an• a purty Ye cud sit in under sight they are in the Spring. them the wettest day that iver wus an• not git spot or jap of rain. 11

(2)

1~2.

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA. Horse Racinli, Horse-racing over set courses seems to have been introduced into the county in the 17th century and the Armagh city track seems to have been one of the earliest.

It was brought into being by the Sovereign and Burgesses of the city, but alas the Corporation Records are missing from 1613 until 1731.

As the city was sacked and

burned in the Civil War of 1641 it is understandable that they should have disappeared at that time.

We know,

however, that the Corporation of Armagh was functioning again by 1657 as in that year the Sovereign and Burgesses replaced the 1613 silver maces (lost in the Civil War of 1641) by two new m~ces procured in 1657.<)

Corporation

minutes should exist from then onwards and indeed were in being when James II paid his memorable visit to the city in 1688, on which occasion he excluded the existing Sovereign and Burgesses and nominated new representatives

of his own creation.

Two years later, following the

battle of the Boyne, the government of the city returned the officers who had been superseded by the orders of lting James - with them disappeared the Corporation Minutes. ( )

Strangely enough, however, all records followi,ng that particular event are missing down until 1731.

In that

year we discover that despite the occurrences . mentioned above horse-racing was still to the fore in the city.

The proof is available in a Corporation Minute of March ]rd 1731, which reads 11 We present Mr. Alexander Livingston as Clk. of ye Course of Armagh for the said ensuing year and that the said Alexander Livingstone and Mr. Thomas Ogle do collect and take up the several subscriptions to be given by the Corporation of Armagh and others toward a Plate, for which subscriptions the said Thomas Ogle and Alexander Livingstone shall account upon oath before the Sovereign and Grand Jury of the said Corporation when required.

We present William English, the said Thomas Ogle and

Alexander Livingstone to regulate and fix the prices for the standing of each booth on the said course as well as the Inhabitants of the Corporati_on and all others. 11 From the above statement it is clear that the racecourse continued in use.

In a minute of June 15, 1752,

we learn that by consent of the Grand Jury of the Corporation

ot Armagh it was proposed to enclose the ground in question. !bis was duly carried out.

The result of the then planning

1s shown on Rocque's Map of 1760 which portrays the improved lay-out of the Course.

The break in continuity

took place in 1773 when Archbishop Richard Robinson decided that the space in question .might -be better utilized as "Walks" for the benefit of the inhabitants of the city.

This resulted in racing moving outside the city where it survives as an annual event known as 11 the Armagh Steeple Chase Races".

There were two other well-known race-courses in the county both situate in the immediate vicinity of towns that of Richhill earlier known as Leggacorry, founded by Major Edward Richardson who, circa 1651+, married .Anne Sacheverall, heiress of Francis Sacheverall the younger, son of the original grantee of the Manors of Leggacorry and Mullalelish • . Major Richardson and his wife were the builders of the mansion now known as Richhill Castle circa 1661+-1666.

The Major was pre sent at the Siege of Derry

and died 1690.

Information as to his racing activities

survives in eorrespo~dence with Lord Conway and others interested in the sport in that period.

The actual race-

course appears on an estate survey of 1732 and is clearly defined on Rocque's Map of 1760. uThe Course"

The ground was called

and gives name to a house known as 11 Course

Lodge".

In the 18th century the race-meeting lasted for

a week and detailed accounts of events appear in contemporary newspapers.

Apart from racing there was a daily Stag Main

or Cockfight in the forenoon of each day•s sport.

The · crossmaglen race-course on the outskirts of the village seems to have been 18th century in origin. show on Rocque•s Map of 1760 but

It is

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA, Turf Cut tin~, The fairies are supposed to have known about the use of turf for fuel.

A local story relates "the

fairies toul' the people about the turf. they only knowed of wood. time;

Before that

It happened about Patrick's

My father cud have toul' ye. u

Another story

says that'une of the wee people got a body to axe the saint whether there was any hope for them in heaven an• that he said not.

The wee people would have kilt the

man that brought the answer only that he lay under Patrick's blessing 11 • (l) Just when peat became the common fuel in County

Armagh ifl a matter upon which we have little information.

In 1940 I was speaking to Mr. Jacob Sandford of Annaghmore who was then aged 70 years and he gave me the underrioted sequence of cutting operations.

Cutting.

Spreading on bank.

Footing. .Turn Foeting.

5.

6.

?.

Clamping.

Carrying to rampar and building into stacks.

Home to the hearth •

Mr. George McNeill of Derryhubbert described the

turr cuttilli in similar fashion. (l)

He was of the same age

Noted down on the Armagh-Monaghan border near Clontibret in 1920.

Turf Cutting Ccont.) as Mr. Sandford above.

He mentioned the name 11 cat

turf" for light turf, commonly called 11 fum 11 and spoke of certain patches in the moss or bog as 11 keerans 11 which he stated were damp sections in which 11 no matter

how deep ye'd do you'd get no solid turf - they float on water and are always water-logged. 11 In the peat areas of the county the 11 conveyance" for bringing the turf to the 11 rampar 11 was a basketwork creel suspended from two poles.

This was carried

by two persons and seemed faster than the turf-barrow, the normal container.

11

Slips" or 11 slides 11 were also

in u~e for transport. \

l turf-spade with a horn terminal instead of the

usual cross-bar was once very common in the Montiaghs area of Armagh.

It was a great favourite with men who

went in for piece work.

I learned of this in 1941 from

Mr. J. Pickering who also informed me that in lighter moss the spades were narrow and in heavier peat broader.

As a fuel it is mentioned in the Senchus Mor or

"Brehon Laws 11 and a curious reference in the Annals of the Four Masters occurs in 1488 from which we learn that ua blast of wind passed through a number of persons

Turf Cutting Ccont.} working at turf at Tuaim Mo which killed one of them

causing the faces of the rest to become swollen".

Fortunately hazards of that kind are events of the past.

In the county generally it is considered proper to cut the turf in May if possible, consequently during that month our bogs are still scenes of great activity, but the quantity raised decreases yearly.

Though spade manufactori es were very much to the fore in the 18th century, and indeed into the first

quarter of the 19th, the making of such implements locally has ceased completely.

Fifty years ago in the Autumn and Winter, carts laden with turf were a familiar sight on roads in the Baronies of 0 1 Neiland East and West and they were 11

usually styled 11 turf bummers 11 or "moss cheepers , names that indeed are still used to distinguish inhabitants of that area in a friendly rather than a derogative sense.

:curt Cuttinr Ccont.} "The "r~lteine 11 ot turf :f'ires was an old custom in tor

County Armaeh homesteads.

Many were kept alive

aenerations in that way.

!he candles were liebted from •.,

such tires tor indeed there were no oil lamps then, nothin' bu.t lone candlesticks that stud on the nu.re and burned rushlichts an• rosin sluts!

Seholars in them days sat on creepy stools an• in the winter each broucht a tu.rt in the mornin I s to hate the ~ehool. 11 .tnnapore.

COUNTY ARUAGH HISCELLAN~ Windmills.

Sir Charles Coote in his Satistical Survey of County Armagh published in 1803 in his section on "Mills of Every Kindu(l)states that Mills are of two descriptions only in this county,

11

those necessary for linen and those for the corn manufacture. mills;

Of the former kind are bleach mills and flax of the latter, are oatmills and those for the

manufactur€ of i'lour; by

oatmeal mills are usually driven

water, but :nany of them are windmills.

The ma,nufircj;"9,-re of flour is very limited, that of oats

considerable in tbe aggregate, but all corn is manufactured for coun~ry use not for exportation.

It might be more

Eiasily -a1reraged, what quantity of oats the mills of this county are equal to manufacture, than the quantity which

they a•Lually do, as there are none of them constantly employed;

however, it is certain, that they are equal to

supply tb~ demand of the country.n T'.ae interest :in the above abstract lies in the suggestion that -windmiils were then plenti~ul, a claim that cannot be substantiated. by facts or even by local

(l)

P.27'5-276.

I ptl .

tradition.

· The follo wing par t·1culars from various sources

would assume that their introduction into the county _took place in the second decade of the 17th century and that they can be localized on Plantation estates and only on such as were in possession of English Grantees.

Carew's Report of 1611 mentions no mills of any kind as regards Plantation Manors in County Armagh but Pynnar in his Su.r ,rey of 1619 shows -

11

two watermills and a windmill"

on the Brownlow estate and "two watermills and a windmill" on the Cope -lands, b~th English settle:uents and situate in the :baronies of O Neiland East and West respecti,.rely.

He

does not, bowe,rer, give any information as to such amenities .,., further sur;rey was in the other baronies of tbe county. made in lh2~ and provides a pen-picture of the then town of

li-lfr&an-; .f'rotn -which we learn that it then consisted of one street of forty houses built on both sides and a

11

good

windmillu on the Cop.e proportion.

Though records of watermills are plentiful from that period onwards we do riot find any mention of winduills in the 4e~o.sitions of Armachians made with regard to events in the Ci'lril War 0 ·r 1641, nor indeed during the Cromwellian oc~l;}at-1.9-n or tµe .<1ays of the Restoration. how'ev!ilr, that

It does seem,

r~:ii;w.1:o:g: the conflict between James and ·.:illiam

there was a renewal o'f windmill building.

Local tradition

~-

\ I 't'2.·· states that this was due - to Dutch settlers and there is indeed factual evidence that Captain William. de Buss erected two sue.~ mills for the Copes of Loughgall.

The first map of- the coi:mty appeared in 1760.

Made

by Rocque, a celebrated cartographer of that time, it is

a survey of considerable interest and delineates no less than nine windmills.

Ordnance Survey ifaps were drai-m up

and published in 183~ and depict eight such structures and one 11 s'tump 11 of which it is probable tba.t most were idle, excepting the one in cA.rmagh city - of which later.

At present there are nstumps 11 at Drumnacanvy in Seagoe Parish, Bruma.I;1.phy ib. Tarta.raghan Parish, Tullynacross near the yillage of' Po_yntzpass and the fairly well preserved shell of' another :,in· Armagh town.

The latter example

tJ;Jougll. now bereft:• Gf machinery and minus its cap and sails is a striking f-eature in the local landscape.

The site

has been occup1~ by a windmill since th~ eaxly 17th c~tu:ry.

The ··pre sent mill, however, superseded the earlie r

one in 1809 ail.d .a,ctttrally 9'ccupies the site of its predecessor.

lt. is depicted complete with its sails in

James Black' s ::paint-ing of the city in 1810, and mentioned in 181-9 by Stuart :Lri bis 11Memoir 'of Armagh 11 as 11 a powerful Windmill, the property of Robert Jackson, Esq., engaged in

the manufacture of flour 11 • (2) pp . 5'15-.16.

One of the three abo,re mentioned windmill s tum~J s , that of Drumnacan vy, is locally known as "Schorn·,,.·:::; , s Tower 11 •

The designati on deri,res from the fact th a t so:.. e f

of Schomber g's troops were stationed in the town

Lurgan and had out-posts in the surroundin g distr ic ts .

Apart from guard duties, the Lurgan (ShankillJ Ve st::-. minutes, under date April 21, 1690, shows that "1is sold.:.sr s were also engaged upon repairs of roads and tl at

11

·Lc _::!'eat

highway had in part been amended by the order of G2!1e !':l Schomberg ".

It is not clear from the entry in ~-·· :st ::. on

whether the aforement ioned "great highuay" referr er; t

J

t. c

road between Lurgan and Lisburn or the old road ..:'r o:-1 :..ur:;c !1 to Armagh, but it seems likely to have been the latte r a s a curious tradition sur1ri,res as to the General him self having used the Blue Stone( 3 )at Lylo as a luncheon t able.

T~adition also states that he ate the meal without cis~ount -

ing from his horse.

(3) This well-know n landmark gave name to a lawle ss band known as the· 11 Bluestone Boys 11 who were the cause of Jrn ci1 in The associatio n was broken trouble in the area.

1781 when three members of the gang were found g-J.il t' in For a short note on t ~1e subject a horrible murder case.

11 11 I p. 562. , Armagh of see Stuart s Memoir

n,

COUNTY

Aru,;AGH

MISCELLANEA.

Bird Traditions.

In the county generally sin gle magpies are looked upon with disfavour and it is still quite usual to find people try to evade possible harm from a lonely bird by bowing ( if a woman) or raising one's hat if a man.

Some more vulgar

persons, however, try to avoid the ill-luck by spitting three times over their left shoulder should a magpie fly across their path.

Locally it is said that trees in which they build their nests "are never tumbled by storms or struck by lightning 11 , and we are all familiar with the rhyme, 11

0ne for sorrow, two for mirth, Three for a wedding, four for a birth. 11

In Cullyhanna in the Barony of Fews I was once told a It was rather unusual

little story about single magpies. so I noted it down.

My informant was an octogenarian

with a most retentive memory from whom I obtained information on many folk subjects.

11

A single magpie is 1ID.lucky.

I

mind when I was a

young one we used till get the letters .at Cullyhanna Capel on Sunday mornings after Mass.

On the way you'd have

heard people saying tlone magpie - no letters

11 •

If you saw

two of them there might be a chance. 11 (1) (1)

It seems triat there was then a place in the village 1,1here

the inhabitants·or the .area collected letters personally.

,.., '!::'.

The same person had a_warm spot in his heart for the wren wbich he described as the 11 Jenny Wran 11 •

He considere d

it 11 cute an' oul' fashioned 11 and declared that 11 all tne birds could be traced but him, an' that it would take a quare one to man him 11 •

One of his neighbours, like

himself over 80 years of age, said "the Wran was the King of the birds 11 and to prove it told me the following story which I think is somewhat general as I have heard many versions of it.

"There wus a gatherin' of all the birds of the air one day to houl' a contest as to which would be king among them.

Many a time I heared the story .

They wur a:q

there, big, small, great and little and some wur gay wi' colour like the kingfisher and others sober coloured like the wee jinny wran.

There vrus a great contention as to how the matter . wd be

decided but in the end it wus arranged that the one

that cud rise the highest wud be the king. there and they started.

They wur all

The lark soared into the sky,

but it wus soon passed be the hawk and the eagle.

Soon

the eagle left them all behine and in no time was high as the sun itself.

There and then it proclaimed itself king

o:£ the air but as sure as to-morrow a wee wran had hid itself in the topney of the eagle unknownst, from which it

rose and continued upwards singing "I'm your king, king of tbe air am I. 11

The eagle was sore put out but it wus

too tired to follow and the ·wran won.

Its a right cute

wee bird the same wran. 11 Strangely enough the wren seems to be growing less plentiful in the county and as for the tiny little goldencrested wren it has become extremely rare.

Once it

haunted the farm haggard and was also very much at home in little groups of young firs, but now alas it is seldom seen.

For instance it is considered unlucky to kill a robin.< 2 ) . Other beliefs are Bird superstitions are many.

That if the lark sings on St. Brigid's Day it is the sign of a good Spring.

That houses that have swallows nests in them will never be struck with lightning.

That killing a wagtail is unlucky.

In the county birds have often secondary names.

Unfortunately I have never been able to compile an exhaustive list.

Those noted below are, however, in common use.

Grey backed crow.

Tbe Corbie Linnet .

The Linty Goldfinch.

The Gold Pink Lapwing.

Tbe Pee Weet Common Wren.

The Jinny Wran

(2) "It was at the Crucifixion and plucked a thorn from Christ ' s brown, in the doing of which its breast became stained with His blood . 11

The Heather Bleat The Felt The Blue Bonnet The Hern Cran The Yeltie The Bardrake The Briar Bunting -+ The Fieldfare The Crail The Scale Drake The Stone Checker The Chi tterling

Snipe.

Redwing.

Blue Titmouse.

Heron.

Yellow Hammer.

Merganzer.

Common Bunting.

Blue Felt.

Merganzer.

Sheldrake.

Stonechat.

Swallow.

Many curious beliefs about birds survive in Armaghbrague .

For instance an old lady told me that her granny always said nthe crows were Christians 11 and that 11 they always began the builging of their nests on the first day of March but if that day was a Sunday divil a stick they'd bring till the next day 11 •

Whether that is really _so I cannot say - March

is not a month that I am much out of doors excepting on St. Patrick's Day -when the warm side of the stone is said to turn up - and indeed ...wru.ally does so!

It was at one time believed that "cuckoos changed into hawks in the summer 11 but as we have no summers now the assumption cannot be checked.

" Birds also figure in local

proverbs such as Birds of a feather flock together.

The early bird catches the worm.

Fine feathers make fine birds.

One swallow does not make a summer.

'

If the cuckoo sings on a leafless thorn, sell your cows and buy hay.

Killing two birds with one stone.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the

bush.

As the unfortunate worm was an earlier riser than the bird, early rising is not to be encouraged despite our local saying 11 early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise 11 •

•

l '5° D

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA.

Local

Pastime:a,

Bullet Throwing, This game(l)was formerly played in most parts of the coupty but at present is chiefly confined to areas within the vicinity of the city of Armagh.

Apart from friendly

events there were, of course, well organized matches with quite respectable stakes.

It is a pastime of some antiquity, still continues and is a source of interest and pleasure to visitors from other counties who are strangers to the game.

Unfortunately

bullet throwing is thought to be slightly dangerous._ This results in the police from time to time making efforts to prevent it being played.

There is perhaps some justification

for this attitude as transport on our roads has increased both as regards speed and number of vehicles thereon.

As

a matter of fact I have seen hundreds of games within the last half century and never once witnessed an accident.

An iron bullet (Cork and Clare players, I believe, call

it a "bowl") weighing about_28 ounces is the u51;al missile,

though I have heard and indeed seen and talked to old people Cl) The famous Dean Swift in his poem .11Dermot and Sheelagh 11

written at Markethill, Co. Armagh, in 1728, whilst s~aying _ there with the Acheson family, mentions the game by its older natne of "long bullet·s 11 •

.

t 5" f.

who remembered stone bullets in use.(2)

The course is

always a country road and the bullet is thrown along the highway, the person covering the fixed distance, usually three or more miles, in the least number of throws being declared the winner.

The game attracts a considerable crowd and the stakes may sometimes reach £100.

11

Scouts 11 are always posted on

the course to see that the bullet is not thrown whilst traffic or pedestrians are approaching.

It is a healthy

and fascinating pastime and it seems a pity that it with disapproval from ~'the powers that be".

eets

It is one of

the few remaining pastimes which spectators may witness and enjoy without cost in these days of commercialized sport.

The police, however, are compelled to descend upon the players from time to time.

When that happens the bullets

are confiscated and the participants appear in court.()) In days gone by the more important contests were celebrated in verse.

A quarter of a century ago there ·.;ere,

many people still-alive, who were familiar with such ballads and able to sing them, but_ alas they have gone and with t!ie JJ most of the old commemorative songs relating to past games.

(2) Such bullets were roughly shaped and then finished smoothly by turning them in specially prepared circular depressions in suitable boulders or rock outcrops.

(3) The Summary Jurisdiction Act of 1851, Section X, subsection 2, prohibits the playing of games on public highways .

--3,.

l5l One such poeti c effor t which ran to twelv e eight -line verse s has been pres erved in the Ulste r Journ al of Archa eolog y. (l+)

· · g in the early 19th centu ry, Wa ke f.1e ld(, 5) writin d sugge sts that the game owes its introd uctio n into Irelan 11 nt to ·a class sprung from Englis h proge nitors "whose desce may be trace d in their featu res, langua ge and names.

These last delig ht in the recre ation s of the count ry which gave birth to their forefa thers and in this they Horse -racin g, are joine d by the desce ndant s of the Scotch .

rite cockf ightin g and bull-b aiting are theref ore their favou amuse ments .,- They play also at long bulle ts, a game much pract ised by the weave rs.

When they intend amusing them-

selve s they assem ble in great numbers and selec t for the The ball is of scene of actio n the most level roads .

He who hurls it the great est lead and weigh s six pound s. distan ce in the fewes t throw s making it roll along the 11

groun d is decla red the winne r.

If Wake field is corre ct in assum ing that the game is 6 ces< ) an introd uctio n from Great Brita in - and there are eviden The suppo rting the theory - then a pretty problem arises ! old Irish popul ation seems to have become more Engli sh than

(4) Third Serie s, Vol.9 , pp.63 -66. .

11 (5) Accou nt of Irelan d, p.738 11 I - the game is (6) For instan ce in Brand s Popul ar Antiq ui ties the throw they as ised pract custom Welsh a as menti oned ibed as descr and d Englan of parts Black smith 's stone in some bulle ts. long as d Englan ern North iri simil ar to the game known

the British themselves - a fact that should be duly investigated by our historians, who may be able to explain

why it should be neglected and forgotten by British settlers and so wholeheartedly adopted by Irishmen.

It would no doubt be rewarding to study the methods of In Scotland for instance th.e bullet seems to have

play.

been propelled diff.e rently.

It appears to have been an

iron bullet and sometimes a round stone about which a broad garter was wound, the end of which was held fast by the hand, whilst the bullet was forcibly thrown forward on the highroad, by which it acquired a rotary motion that made it move with considerable rapidity_(?)

In County Armagh the game took on a new lease of life in the war years.

This revival was largely due to the

shortage of petrol and consequent reduction in the volume of motor transport, facts that brought about ideal conditions The renewed interest may survive the now That, however, increased traffic on our highways.

for the sport. largely

is a problem that the future must solve as best it may.

Football.

Football is perhaps the most varied and indeed the most popular game in the county, but alas we have no early

(7) Dictionary of Scottish Language, printed by Sawers of

11 Edinburgh 1818 wherein it is termed Long Bullet".

'

tradition s regarding it.

In Curryhugh es· near Keady nearly half a century ago an old friend then aged 80

years told me this story_

"In me grandfath er's time a football match was sport worth seein'. , I niver saw one such but he minded An• they, d One townlan I wud play another. them well. draw straws(S) for which wud hev the choice as to where they'd start kickin'.

An' they'd begin in the middle

of that townla.n' an' it wus up till thatteam till keep the ball from gettin' .o'er the boundary. th.ey' d be bate.

If that happened

He often said it wus better than hunts

an' that the whole of tl:le-count ry wud be out till cheer.

The sides might be any number but it bid till be agreed till before the fun begun."

That to my mind must have been better fun than the present system whereby the spectators are frozen and the players the butt of -ill-natur ed hooligans . .Qock-fi~h tin~.

This has its roots in the past and is still with us.

It was once very popular in the ~ounty especia~ly in the 18th century when it was undoubted ly considered a first

(8) Short Straws and long straws held in the hands with Heads of the teams plucked a straw even ends showing.

Usually the long straw was considere d the de ciding each. straw but the method was re~ersibl e.

class pastim e for gentlem en!

Like bull-ba iting it was th en chief favour ite with the public.

The followi ng notices

sbow its then popula rity - now such matches only take place in secret and isolate d places.

"The Royal Sport of Cock-f ighting .

To be fought a

main of cocks in Portado wn between the gentlem en of Antrim against Down and Armagh for 500 guineas the main or odd battle and 5 guineas a cock.

To be shown on the 29th

April and fought on Monday followi ng.

B.N.L. 11

Cock-f ighting .

April 4, 1786. 11

To be shown on Sat. the 20th day

of March instan t and fought the week followi ng in the town of Moira, a main of 31 codks for four guineas a battle and one hundred the main or odd battle between the County of Armagh and the County of Antrim.

B.N .L.

ucock- fightin g.

March 9, 1779. 11

To be shown at Lurgan the 22nd

instant , 31 cocks and 15 bye battles between the Gentlemen of County Armagh and County Down for 100 guineas the main or odd battle an.d to be ·fought on Monday 24th instant .

B.N.L. May 10, 1779.u ucock- fightin g .

.

To be shoW!J in Moy in the County of

fyrone on Sat. 12th June between the gentlem en of the County

,-7..

156.

or Tyrone and Armagh, 31 cocks for 10 guineas the battle or 100 guineas the main.

B.N.L. "Cock-fighting.

June 17, 1779. 11

To be shown at Lurgan the 22nd inst.,

thirty-one cocks and fifteen bye battles between the gentlemen of County Armagh and County Down for 100 guineas the main or odd battle and to be fought on Monday 24th inst.

B.N.L.

Lurgan, May 10, 1779. 11

Cock-fighting and bull-baiting in the City of Armagh were both banished from its precincts by the d:a~ng up of

new bye-laws in 1798.

The actual minutes survive and read

as under ucockfights shall not be suffered within th~ Corporation nor the tbrowin~ of cocks, under a penalty of five shillings to be paid by every perso~ present at such cruel sports, and twenty shillings to be levied of the owners of the cocks".

At the same time it was decreed 11 that no bull should be baited within the Corporation under a penalty of forty Shilling sit.

These two pastimes according to local tradition had been played within the circuit of the old 17th century racecourse - known as the Commons, now designated the Mall from Plantation d'ays down to the last quarter of the 18th

century.

In the latter period in the year 1764 Dr. Richard

1

a.\ f 57, , Robinson was translated from the See of Kildare to the Archbishopric of Armagh.(9)

It is said that he found

the bull-baiting, free fights, gambling, cockfighting and drinking that then followed the races for several days.an unpleasant feature of our city life.

It is,

however, more likely that he considered the consequent

disturbances, the gipsy and tinker encampments and other disagreeable nuisances undignified adjuncts to a cathedral

town.

At anyrate in 1773 he leased the Commons to the

Sovereign and Burgesses of Armagh for the purpose of

utilizing them for the benefit of the inhabitants of the This ended its use as a racecity as ~Public Walks". course, and resulted in the open green space now one of Armagh's most pleasant features.

Archery.

The first reference to an Archery Club in an Irish city that I am aware of occur~ in relation to Armagh.

It was founded by the Very Rev. James Downham, Dean of We know that the Dean's son-in-law, Armagh 1667.1681.

(9) Dr. Robinson built the present Palace in 1770, endowd and founded the Public Library in 1771, was created Baron Rokeby of Armagh in 1777, endowed ana

founded the Armagh Observatory in 1789 and died 1794.

Walter Cope of Drumilly,' was cap t ain in 1 676, by which time

we may assume that the Club had been some years in-existen ce.

Unfortun ately reference s to the sport are somewhat scanty locally.

Tradition states that the sport first flourished on This the archepisc opal demesne lands, then unenclose d. is borne out to some effect by the first Ordnance SUrvey 11 Maps for the county which show in 1835' two Archery Butts".

By that date the mensal lands had become bounded by

The position of the butts was just west of the Palace and north of the farmyard on land that shortly enclosing walls.

afterward s was utilized for the County Armagh Agricultu ral Society shows and has been in intermitte nt use for that purpose to the present day.

Basse1t's County Armagh published in 1~88 states .that That, however, is somewat the Club was rounded in 1862. incorrect .

It moved from the Palace lands to the Pavilion

grounds in 1860 and the Club was in.a flouris~in g state in 1888 when Bassett published his survey of the county. As a club it enjoyed great popularit y an~ was attended by Bnglish and Scotch archers who came over in respectab le numbers to compete at its tournamen ts, but by the end of

Not, tbe ~•ntury it was beginning to fall into decay. however, until the 191~-18 war did it become completel y

defunct.

CroQuetL 1868 According to the Armagh Guar dian of August club " in the Armagh Arch ery Club "opened a ne~ croq uet The game does not, however, seem to have been a favo urit e in the ci·ty though i· t. con t inue d in the hous es unti l coun ty as a past ime on the lawns of coun try the firs t quar ter of the pres ent cent ury.

that year :

Bowling. a popu lar In the 17th and 18th cent urie s bowling was are few. past ime in Armagh city but refe renc es to it

.

We

.

Civi l War know it was flou rish ing just prev ious to the

of 1641 . the town for We have , howe,,er, no deta iled maps of Armagh we that peri od but from rent als of the Manor of For insta nce know that it was situ ate in Scot ch Stre et. mentions Ashe in a Surv ey of the See Lands made in 1703 which was uone sma ll park by the Bowling Green tenem ent 11 l park adjo indest roye d in the late wars " and anot her smal both lyin g ing the above wher ein was the Bowling Green 11 is not clea r toge ther near the House of Corr ectio n .(lO )It refe rred to from above refe renc e whe ther "the late wars" 1641 and 1690 or to the latt er only .

.

ue' s Map of 1760.

(10) Shown as "Bri dew ell" on Rocq it as a plac e of tion men 1796 of laws byeCorp orat ion "per sons play ing and n" wome dete ntio n for "dis orde rly nd t_la-. Mark et Housen and arou s game r othe hand ball or . refe r to it 171 its orig inal name

H. l&0.

Garbaldy, This game, which seems to have been a form of hurley, was played in Armagh Diocese in the fourteenth century.

For instance John Colton, Archbishop of

Armagh from 1381 until his death in 14-04, found it

necessary at a Provincial Synod held between the years

1383 and 1389 to forbid the playing of the game because of the mortal sins and homicides ensuing therefrom.

The penalty for disobedience was excommunication, but there the story ends and we are left in doubt as to whether the faithf'ul actually forsook the reprehensive pastime.

1

ARMAGH MI~QELLANEA,, Festival§.

New Year• s Day. Local tradition asserts ~hat 11 special cakes were formerly baked for this dayu and that uwtiat comes into the house first on that morning would be plent~ful throughout the year 11 •

Water of no kind, however, was

to be thrown out on that occasion and it was and is still considered unlucky for the first visitor to be red-headed Such people are not 11 sonsy 11 •

The following little story

illustrates the belief "Red-headed people are not always sonsy - especially women.

I well mind hearin' a woman whose son was

gettin' married to one make a moan about it.

God help him", said she, "i,rerbody will be jumpin' If I had my way the ditch rather than meet her • 11

.

she'd niver set a toe in the house.

It's a quare

affront to a dacent body a . daughter like that".

But sure, it would just ~ave been the same if he had She wus ill to plaza married a saint from heaven. that one. 11 New Year's Day is still to some extent regarded as the wrong time to pay out ~oney or give away butter or milk.

The older generation avoided funerals on that day - sextons

~

162.. indeed have been known to refuse to dig graves on New Year's Day.

The presentation of 11 wisps 11 of hay was once a fe ature

of the day but in so far as County Armagh , i~ conce rn~d has fallen into decay.

The custom still survives, however, .in

the Kilkeel area in the adjoining county of Down. not discovered the reason for such gifts.

I have

f b"3.

St, Stephen's Da~....

The hw itin g of the wren h as qui. te disa ppe are d exc ept on the Armagh-Louth bor der where one may sti ll find gro ups es, and sing ing the of chi ldr en car ryi ng dec ora ted c~g Th ey se ld om, however, can manage more tha n uwran_ Song 11 • e no lon ger con tain s a on! ver se, and, of cou rse, the cag liv e wren. l such gro ups in Dub lin A few yea rs ago I saw st:nrera ven ture to pro vid e money ltle re it was cle arl y a commercial On St. Ste phe n's Day 1953 I saw for pic t~e s and swe ets. in Dundalk and two oth ers six or sev en gro ups circ ula ting bor der .

Amongst such at Fau gha rt on the Arl!lagh-Louth y sin g the fir st two ~ar ties it now seems usu al to onl s tha t fou r ver ses are ver ses , but one occ asio nal ly find known.

the y are usu ally Ori gin ally all were young mei:i,now When I las t ive als o.

Young boy s but the gir ls are act ver y m~ch amused to find saw the 11 pla yn in Dundalk I was a dec ora ted bra nch tha t the cag e had det erio rate d into nied by ano the r you ngs ter which was swung by one boy accompa kis sed him from tim e to dre sse d as a gir l who embraced and the par ty pra nce d abo ut time wh ilst the oth er members of g up Some atte mp t was made at dre ssin and sang lou dly . s and stra w ot cou rse , the tra dit ion al stra w hat

but,

.Another later group composed of leggi ngs were miss ing. · · small boys were all dress ed in cowboy kits with revol vers Alas they barel y knew the strap p~d to their waist band s. first verse of the song - and·indeed their p:ede cesso rs The Armagh versi on runs were not much bette r infor med.

to four Q..

The wran, the wran The king of all th~ birds St. Steph en's Day he was caug ht in the furze .

We""wran, wee wran, Wl:iere is your nest, 1 Tis in t~e tree That I love best.

Altho ugh he is littl e His honou r is great , Then up with ye alL\. ) An' give us a trate .

Between a holly An' an ivy tree Where none ot the birds Can meddle with me.

On one occas ion I asked an old frien d in Edenappa some quest ions abou t the custom and he had this to tell me Well "Is it the hunti n' of the wren yer after ?

The bludy Sowl ay! it wus done right enough.

.

The Danes wur all bird lost Irela nd to us. sleep in' one night an' we wud have wiped them Didn 't it dance on the all out only for it. drums and waken them.

That wus befor e Brian 's

day."

One I have, of cour se,-h eard at least two other versi on. from cred its it with savin g a porti on of Crom well's army King Simil ar destr uctio n and a servi ce of the same kind for LIBefore William previ ous to the battl e of the Boyne.

.

.

.

land( ) SometimH these two lines are rende red "Then up la47 and give him a trate ".

b t ed High King of Brian's day" simply refers to a ce 1era

Ireland who died in 1014 and is buried in Armagh.

Twelfth Dax, This was formerly regarded as the time on which the days of the new year began to lengthen.

Most of the folk

lore relating to it has perished in so far as County Armagh is concerned excepting that.it is considered a day on which charity should be free~y given.

Curiously enough

Armachians still believe that all Christmas decorations should be removed on or before the "twelfth nigbt • 11

.St. Bri~id's E:v:e and DaY....

In Bal lym ore par isb I note d down many yea rs ago a b I sha ll use as pra yer for the rake ing of the fire whic tale s rela ting to an intr odu ctio n to this summary of gid _ cust oms on the Eve ~nd Day of st. Bri ist pres er~e s all uLe t us pres erve this fire as Chr ' and Brig id in e hous the Chr ist at stthe head of ' ' the mid this house and all in it Gua r~n g and pres ervi ng day" . the of t ligh the unt il par ticu lar Pea t was then the common fuel ·in that tha t the fire had hou seho ld and fam ily ~ra diti on stat ed in the ashe s nigh tly been rake d and the live turf buri ed The refe renc e to Brig id inte rest ed me hea rt of the fire . in tha t it link ed the sain t with the

for gen erat ion s.

Brig id's _Cr osse s. when the mak i~ No ear ly evid ence_ is av~ ilab le as to of Br~ gid' s Fes tiva l of _Br igid 's Cro sses on the Eve and Day to beli eye that the firs t beg an, thou gh ther e is reas on and is a surv ival of custom pre -da tes the Chr istia n Peri od ed The ear lies t loca l acco unt is con tain an ear lier cul t. in a pam phle t prin ted in 1689.< ) old custom In Cou nty Armagh in.s uch homes as the es are gath ered continues (and they are very few) the rush to the hou se. on the las t day of Janu ary and brou ght most mat eria l () A true and imp arti al hist ory of the ng the last two occurrences 1n the Kingdom of Irel and duri 1•ar •. Lon don MDCXCI.

t 1'bey must be pulled and may not be CU,

As a rule ~hey

are not taken inside until after sunset.

On that evening

it is usual to have a special meal in which pancakes figure.

This mostly takes place before the rushes are

brought in, and when partaken of, a female member of the household is chosen to bring the rushes into the house.

She is sent out in the darkness of the night and the door carefully closed.

She immediately lifts the prepared

rushes from some comrenient spot near the door, knocks three times· and cries 11 Go on your knees, open the door and let Brigid in 11 •

The door is then opene~ ·and all kneel in

prayer after which the rushes are divided and the members of the household begin the task of fashioning the crosses.

The ritual of the making of the crosses seems to ,rary In some places a cross somewat in different districts. is made and placed upon the table before the meal is The meal itself is· generally spoken of as partaken of.

"Brigid's Tea" or "Brigid's Supper" and though pancakes always feature as the chief d~sh, it is usual in certain apple-growing districts to have an apple griddle-cake or

apple-dumpling as well.

In County Armagh, Brigid's Cross now seldom appears as a straw cross.

It is.almost invariably made of rushes,

though the interlaced varieties are chiefly fashioned from

·-

reeds.

The making of straw crosses presents a rather

perple~ng problem.

It suggeS t s in some ways links with the har~est and makes one wond er whether Brigid took over ' some of the attributes of th e Calliagh besides those of

her Pagan namesake.

The rush cross is sometimes varied by having weather

exposed rushes of the P:evious year· intermixed with new green rushes.

The pro v 1.·d_es a p1 easant contrast of colour,

but of course the cross eventually bleaches to a straw colour and the effect is not then noticeable.

In days past when most of the country cottages were devoid of ceilings, the inner side of the thatched roof was considered the proper place for the crosses of preceding

years and they usually remained there until they crumbled away.

Brigid's Crosses when fashioned must not be lightly throw aside.

When they can no longer be preserved they

should be burned or buried.

Though it is th~ught more proper to make the Crosses on Brigid's Day or Eve, they are quite often mad~ specially The making and giving of such for presentation to friends.

crosses is said to honour st. Brigid and confer a blessing on the persons who made them, their welfare being increased by tbe gift of bestowal, and f;iendship strengthened between

the donor and recipients. ()Fora more detailed study of the subject see Ulster Journal ot Archaeology (Third Series) Vol,8, pp.43-48.

lb~ .

I have taken down many stor.ies a bout the custom tbis one deals with other subjects as well - and has a special appeal for me personally.

It was told to me by

Hrs. Brigid Quinn of Glassdrummond who was born near Ball's Mill in 1836.

She was a most delightful old lady and still very mentally acti,re when I last saw her on 28 lfov. 1939.

She died in 1941 aged 105 years.

"I was christened in the house with my sister who was twin to me, but neither of us were put in the priest's book, though another brother and sister, both older and

long since dead were entered correctly enough. days the

In them

priest often baptized children in their homes,

but it was better to be done in the chapel for then you were written in.

11 When I was young I remember hearing of tbe famine",

but it is little I mind of it now.

New roads were made

around here and all the women and girls worked on them.

The way i~ was in our 1'hey were glad to do anything. house must not have been bad or I would have thoughts of it in my bead still.

The girls would

At Hallow E'en we made tricks! tbrpv a ball into a lime kiln and ask for the name of

The boys would be waiting and they would I remember a girl who called know lfhich girl to answer.

their boys.

•'Who is there" one sue~ night and a voice shouted back

•the di vil and I'm waiting here for . you".

That put an

end to the throwing of balls that evening I can tell you.

The

The Calliagh was always done when I was young.

way of it was, the last armful was tied in three plaits

and the boys had throws with a hook at it.

When it was

sheared it was taken into the house and the boys and girls would have a grand caper that night.

It was done here

till not long ago.

We kept the ~oly Days better long ago.

We always

minded Brigid's Eve and made crosses in her honour.

We

made them of rushes and of straw and on the day after we

sometimes made a pilgrimage to Faughart to pray at her stream .

Nobody worked on Pa.trick's Day and we always

kept the Feast of St. Peter and Paul.

11

They w~re talked ·or when I was young.

11 There were to have been "fallen angels ,

Wee J?eople"

were believed

And there banshees too, they caJD.e to cry before death.

•~omen, who could take the milk and butter were wit c h es, Old " I mind seeing a hare shot coming from or maybe do worse.

It had been taking the milk a byre one Hallow E'en night, and the man watched for it•"

ffllAGH MISCELLANEA MARCH 25th

This festival according to local tradition was in some way connected with the Feast of the Assumption on August 15th but the customs or reasons for the association are now forgotten.

17 /.

All Fools• Day {1st April).

11

The first of April some do say Was set apart for All Fools Day, But why the people call it so Not I, nor they themsel1re s do know 11 •

So says the old rhyme.

Cuckoos, Swallows and

Co~ncrakes traditionally arri1re on that day.

It may

have been so in earlier times but alas the skies are

.

becoming more dangerous for birds and migrants now seem to be arriving somewhat ·1ater.- but children still fool their elders and they themselves are sent on 11 f~olarns 11 , ( looking for 11 round squares" and other imaginative objects.

( )

Errands.

)

Easter.

After the austerities of Lent , Easter becomes a muc h appreciated return to normal practices in food and refresh-

ment.

In so far.as County Armagh is concerned much of the

traditional observance connected with that season has disappeared.

On Good Friday in the country district some of

.

.

the older people yet visit the graves of their parents, kinsfolk and n~ighbours, but the custom is fast falling into non-observa nce.

Like Patrick's Day it was considered

a lucky time to plant potatoes, but under the modern agricultural set-up the planting of that particular crop is now usually much later.

Easter Sunday ce~ebrations are on the decline but it is still usual to provide eggs in quantity on that day for the use of the household but alas the children now-a-days prefer the confectione r's egg with the result that we seldom see them rolling the produce of our poultry in suitable fields on the morning or afternoon of that day.

This seems a pity as it was general to all denomination s.

t73.

ARHA,GH MISCELLANEA,

Shrove Tuesday Commonly called 11Pancake Tuesday" this festival is still celebrated by the baking and eating of pancakes.

The traditional types baked on the griddle .have, however, been superseded by shop varieties which are indeed

poor substitutes for those baked in the homes.

Locally

I have found no records as to particular methods of observance other than that some elderly people say it was a season of matchmaking and playing of tricks on 11

prospective brides and their 11 husbands-to-be •

ARHAGH MI SCELLJu-VF,L_ Mid- Summ er E:sce • Bo nf ire s were 1·igb ted on Mid-Summer Eve and Drumbunion Hi ll ne ar Ke ad y seems to ha ve been one of th e more ill lp or tan t si te s co nn ec ted With th e fe sti va l .

Lo ca lly it summit. st is be lie ve d th at mo of Ul ste r is Vi sib le from its ed 90 odd d man in 1928, the n ag I was to ld by an ol ea te st y it was one of th e gr da 's er th fa s hi in ye ar s, th at It was s in th e co un ty. lie mb se as e Ev r me um of th e Mid-S es m co ns id er ab le di sta nc fro rs to si vi by ed nd ' th en at te st . Mochua, (1 ) of ell W e th ed sit vi ha ve many of whom would W ell . (3 ) , ( 2 ) and St . Meedy 1 s St . Pa tr ic k' s Ch air 11 come ar fe sti va l ha ve no t ul tic ar _p is th t ou ab St or ie s rna rd An ol d fri en d, Be ta il. down" in an y gr ea t de in November ea r Tassagh) aged 75 (n e ge era nd Ta of b McCrees e'd be a 11 on Mid-Summer Eve th er at th me ed rm fo in 191+2, sic an • al l th e ig ht pr oc es sio n and mu hl rc to a th wi ire nf bo h of th e ru ine d churc nd ne ar th e si te pil nla st pa tow in rd e rla ag .ae im ur gr Dr (l) e of a no tab le pl ac 19 s of De rr yn oo se , lap th ce ntu ry 1 bu t brba e th in d se gh t ou m at Custo ~h ne sto da ys . ing A wi sh . ly nt ce g re nin d tux ve vi of re d en tho be ac co rd ing to the thme e Church, removed eo od or 11 1 lu ck of n tio en rv te in e was, th ro ug h th an d se cr et ly bu rie d. e hi gh es t po in t on Ca rri ga tu ke , thof ark dm lan n ow the on ly kn llsce ne (2 ) 4 we of Armagbbrague,e in St ill un ty. co e th in th e tow11nland 11 pi lg rim ag rry August. be in ae bl ay nd ng Su vi t rs rn su Ju ly and fi in ay nd Su st la e th he ld on de ta ils Iskeymeadow . No th e townland ofrim all y lin ke d on iti ad Tr e.

(J ) Si tu at e 1n to ag pi lg of 'ts d'a as e iv rv su 1d tb a St • .Meedy.

Mid- Snmm er Eve Ccont . ) young people wud be ~here.

There'd always be a few

oul' ban's too who'd wait till the crowd wud be gone,

then they'd collect a half-burned turf or two an' take them home with them to put on the flax an' corn crops 11 • Another old friend·, Bernard Rocks, aged 85, in 1931 when discussing the site of a carn( 4 )i~ Cladybeg townland told me it had been used by the Synotts when they built

the new house at Ballymoyer, for which they had permission from Lord Charlemont to remove the stones .

This he said

had been unlucky for both families.(5)

Here I found that 11 bonfires were lighted at the earn in the oul ' days on Mid-Summer Eve and there would be the best of musi.c and dancing. here right till about 50 years ago 11 • surprise.

The custom continued That was indeed a

If my informant was correct as to when the

custom was discontinued there it must have been the last place in the count y wherein it was ob~erved!

Another tale taken down in 1942 from Michael Murphy -

ot Drumully near the old roadside inn known as the Mountain (4) (5)

Site now known as the 11 Green Height 11 (a circular patch tree from heather) . rwo families no longer represented in Co . Armagh .

Curiously enough both the Synott house and Lord Charlemont • s house at Roxborough have both been demolished and neither families now own any land 1n the cow,ty!

..,-; 17b .

Mid- Summ fr Eve Ccont, } House, states that "we used to make bonfires on MidSummer Eva.

You would have seen them blaze on the

bills, but there come a time when tb~ parties that lighted them attacked each other.

In time they grew

into faction fights an' the festival was forgotten.

It's a pity harmless things should be broken up by feelings of rivalry in religion or politics 11 • 11

They used . to have great bonfires he.re on Midsummer

Eve but that has all passed.

Every hill had one even

if it was only a bottle of straw on a pole. 11 Alexander F. Fleming, Tullybrone,

1942.

11

0n Hid-Summer Eve there'd be bonefires but they

have vanished.

I mind an oul' woman who lived nixt us,

an' the Eve ne~er passed that she did not go out on the hill an' light a whin or a bottle of straw. 11 Corran.

uWhen I was young there'd be a bonefire on the night

ot l-11.d-Summer I s Eve. 11 .Armaghbrague.

Nid-Sm)ltller Eve <cont . ) 11

There were bonfires on the hills here up till about

fifty years ago. 11

C,assidy, circa 1930 11 then in his seventies ", Tandragee (Tassagh) .

"On that night somebody was sure to light a few whins somewhere but in this district there was nothing in the way of assemblie s or games.

All that had died

out, though the festival was still spoken of by the old people who said it had ceased because the to-wnlands were jealous of each other's efforts and that often the people of an adjoining townland raided the bonfire of a neighbour ing crowd if they thought it . better than the There was then a free fight

one lighted by themselve s .

and bad blood between the two townlands for many a day.

I suppose I

was eight or ten years of age at the time

and the people debating the matter were from 70 to 80

Years old.

Such fires are said, however, to have stopped

after the troubles of 1798 . 11 Cornascrie be, G.P~ Aged 75.

ARMAGH NISCELLANFJ. Bonfire Ni~ht, July 1st When I was a boy, and that was well over half a

century ago, I remember going with young people of my olllD age group to nearby hills from which we could see

bonfires blazing from dusk to midnight on that particular evening.

Now the custom has practically

disappeared from the country districts and become in

some few instances an urban feature .

I could never discover when such bonfires began, but as they were a celebration linked with the battle of the Boyne itself, then perhaps they had an earlier origin that I thought possible, due perhaps to the change

in the Calendar by which th·e date for the famous battle

has now become July 12th instead of July 1st.

At those bonfires there were games, songs and dancing and sometimes a torchlight procession equipped with an effigy of Lundy, which was subsequently thrown upon the

fire and usually consisted of a mass of inflammable •aterial collected from farms in the vicinity.

Sometimes,

however, the fire took the form of a tar barrel or other IUitable cask mounted on a high pole.

This was most

lffective but sometimes burned too quickly, so it was UIUa,l to have the ordinary bonfire as well, and have the bur,1 a1 the final part of the ceremony.

Bonfire Night, July 1st (cont.)

It was at one such gathering I first heard the old ballad -

UJuly the First in Oldbridge town, There was a grievous battle, Where many a man lay on the groun' By cannons that did rattle.

King James, he pitched his tents between The line for to retire, But King William threw his bomb-balls in, • An' set them all on fire. 11 This realistic account was most thrilling, and so vere other similar favourites like 1rThe sash my father

wore", the 11 0ul Orange Flute 11 , etc.

But to return to the date of origin of the July bonfires.

I cannot help feeling that they began in

the early 19th century but may indeed have derived from the festival bonfires which even then were still seasonal features in the local landscape.

AtihAGH HI SCELLAN® I 1',~STI VAL S,

The Feast of st. Peter and st. Paul, ln County !rmagh this seems to have been linked with wells and boni'ir e s.

A pilgrimage still survives to St.

Patric~•s Well, Armagh, though less well attended than formerly.

According to tradition the well overflows at

midnight on June 29th .

Bonfires ceased in this

connection in the closing days of the 18th century -and there is little information now available as to the celebrations that formerly took place on that particular festival.

In the Crossmaglen part of the county, in Drumlougher 11 towiand, there is a little lake known as "Patrick 1 s Lake

'Where local people congregated in pilgrimage to lie upon

a slab of rock that tradition links with St . Patrick.

One account states that he slept a night upon it whereas another story says that he was chased by "a giant wate-rsnakeN when swimming in the _lough, and in running from

the serpent tripped bis full length on the stone •.

My

1nto1'111ant, wo was a~ed 80 in 1926 said that as _part of tbe evening ceremony there was a bonfire which he described as follows -

19 i.·.

The Feast of st. Peter and st. Pav.l (cont.) uT'nare wu.s bonefires too .

People wud always save a

bag of turf for tbat evening no matter how short they An' the cattle \vUd be taken down an' the ashes

thrown about them. did.

I don 1 t mind that part but me father

Oul people said the other wee lough(l) hed a

It's

pilgrimage to it too, but I know nothing of that. a pity that oul 1 customs should die 11 •

A neighbour of

equal age confirmed his remarks in these words -

11

Ay

there'd always be a bonfire here on June 29th and a

pilgrimage to the laugh. mornin 1 •

There 'd be songs till near

I remewber one oul 1 lassie that wud remain till

the end an' she'd always·take home a bit of a stick from the fireu.

Another account states that

11

there used to be a

gathering on the 29th of June each year on the shores of

l._ou~h Patrick, but whether it was a Patron or the dying

2 remains of a pilgrimage it is hard to say 0 . ( ) A well at Lisadian near the city of Armagh was visited

up to about 80 years ago.

My information regar<iing this

derives from the Downey MS., now preserved at the Armagh Christian Brothers' School. (l)

Adjoining st. Patrick's but known as 11 st. Peter 1 s Lou€;h 11 • .Bonfires on that nigh t were lighted on Carrigatuke and According to another friend of equal other hieh hills. age 11 the ashes from such fires had a cure in them 11 but what it was be had for,otten.

(a)

lDtormaw; Mr. Devlin, Cullyhanna.

ARHAGH l-IISCELLAN"EA .

Feast of st. John .

Locally this festival was known as 11 Bonefire Night 11 and tradition affirms that it was customary

to add animal bones as fuel . · It was usual to make pilgrimages to holy wells and pay visits to cburchyards, customs no longer observed.

IS~-\ ARMAGH MISCELLANEA. Festivals, The Harvest.

The various accounts noted herewith have been contributed by people of Irish, English, and Scotch descent.

The harvest customs of the three nationalities

in County Armagh are so interwoven that I make no attempt to distinghish the one from the other.

They do,

however, disclose certain interesting facts that may be briefly summarized as under 1.

The Calliagh when cut was carried into the house where it was sometimes preserved to · the next harvest.

2.

Women were allowed to plait the Calliagh and when cut it was sometimes despatched to a neighbour whose corn was still standing.

3.

The sickle was thrown in a special way and women could take part in the throwing of it.

4.

5.

The sickle was thrown from a butt.

The wetting of the Calliagh - a similar custom Sometimes to the wetting of the shamrock. a 11 cry 11 was raised before and after the cutting.

6.

After the cutting ritual it was c.arried into the house where it might be draped round the neck of either master or mistress.

7.

The cutting or the Calliagh was mostly followed by a special meal known as the Churn.

\

The Harvest, {cont.)

In South Armagh where stories of the Calliagh Bhirra survive, there are traditions linking that mythical figure with the harvest.

The following story taken down

in 1939 from a Mr. Mallon of Clontygora, then aged 7q, illustrates that particular _aspect.

It states that uthe

Calliagh was a kind of -witch, an oul hag of a woman.

She lived on Slieve Gullion but how she got into the cutting of the corn nobody knows.

When the field was

nearly bare the last straws were woven into three plaits and cut be the throwin' of hooks or be the sweep of the scythe.

Then it would go to hang on the souple.

be a week dance that night.

Indeed there'd be dances in

all the houses in harvest time night about. are changed.

There'd

But times

Who.1 d let them in to dance now?"

Fifty years ago in harvest time in County Armagh the

fields were alive with men, women, and children all engaged in the reaping and saving of the crops.

The scythe was

then the common cutting implement, but I remember seeing the sickle in use for shearing wheat straw for the purpose ot thatching.

That would have been circa 1898 to 1914.

At that time horse drawn mowing machines were fairly prevalent but on· the smaller holdings the scythe was still

!J'., '""" tca'6. '

The Harvest Ccont.} • to be seen.

In those days, and indeed later, grass seed

was saved in considerable quantities.

After being cut

and stooked the sheaves were gathered together on a suitable day and threshed on a large winnowing cloth, on which on raised supports, usually a ladder on a couple of kitchen chairs, the grass was hammered with wooden batons, and subsequently 11 bagged 11 and taken to the barn where it was cleaned and made ready for the Market.

With wheat and oats the mode was different and the de-seeding accomplished by flails.

By 1898, probably

somewhat earlier, we were equipped with metal threshing machines pulled by a pair · of horses which moved in circular fashion.

Such machines were common then and

were familiar sights in farmyards where the same power was also used for churning milk.

In those days straw

waa a valuable commodity and was carted many miles to markets for sale.

This little collection of harvest customs could undoubtedly be enlarged and similar tales found in Irish

counties generally. ~A little handful of corn was gathered up

an• tied in a knot. ebearin• .r

an' plaited·

It was done on the last . day of the

It was cut from a butt an' the fella who cut

it, carried it off to the house, where it wd be put above

The Harvest Ccont.) the dure-head for luck, an' left there to the nixt year.

That night there'd be a bit of a spread an' plenty of whiskey, for it was as cheap then as buttermilk is the day. II

(John Haughey, Armaghbrague, aged about 83 years.

July 29, 1942.)

11

I saw the Calliagh cut by the hook an I I mind well

s~eing eleven or twelve oul' weemin in one fiel' shearing.

The lan' was then in rigs an' ivery woman bed a rig.

11

When it was cut it was taken home an' bung in the kitchen • (John Murray, Armaghbrague, aged 85.

July 30th, 1942.)

"I don I t mind seeing the Calliagh cut, but I know the way it was done in my father's day, ·was be throwin' the That day the workers would torment the

hook from a butt. childer be sayin,

11

when the_ Calliagh' s caught the day we 11

An' 'Will be bring in, it in till hang y er moth er with • the wee ones . believed ·them an' were frightened till death.

It was'always put about the neck of the woman of the house, that was the right thing till do.

11

Mrs. Murray, wife of above John, and a native of

11

Ba111ntate in Ba1lymoyer Parish).

The Harvest ccont. 2 u1 saw the Calliagh cut and cut with a hook too, but that wus long ago.

They plaited the last wee bit

of the corn an' then they stud back an' threw hooks at it.

The man that cut it put it roun' the neck of the

man of the house an' threatened till hang him, but he always bought his lib~rty with trates all roun' ."

(Bernard McCreesh).

"There wus a charm in the Calliagh. cut it cud do things.

He'd be able till cure almost

An 1 this is how he'd work it.

anything.

The man that

He'd put on

a horse's winkers an' take ye down till a flush(l)wtiere the horses w.d be drinkin'.

An' there he'd make ye

An' after ye'd done it, he'd put ye three

drink too.

times under a donkey's belly, an' after that ye'd be fit

as a :fiddle.

I know a man it wus done with an' he's

alive an I over eighty. 11

(Thomas Mallon, Drum.art, Loughgall, aged about 70 years).

(1)

A water-hole, usually at the side of a lane

or road, at which horses and other animals were accustomed

to quench their thirst.

The Harvest {cont.)

"At Drumilly in the oul' days the last stalks of

the corn wur plaited an' when they wur cut they wur tuk till the house.

Then there wus singing an' fun.

An'

all the men an' the girls wud sing be ear but there wus one cud do it be note.

He wus called "Geordie look-up 11

because of he's way of walkin 1 •

An' all the neigbbourin'

ladies wud be there too till hear him.

He wus the talk

of the countryside - when he wus there, they'd rather not

listen till the others.

He'd always sing 11 the Montiagh

wedding 11 an' ivery time he'd be encored he'd give them 0

the turf-man from Ardee 11 •

He used till be the whole

talk but I only saw the Calliagh cut once. When I wus a boy people wud hire a man for the Sometimes indeed ye'd see two of

winter's threshin'.

them with flails, facing each other across a winnowingcloth.

An' when it wus -thrashed they'd take it till a

hill an I the wind wud blow the chaff away.

Flails are little used now.

The 11 soupel 11 is the

part ye'd hit the corn with, an' the 11 han' staff" the part ye gripped.

They wur joined by the tug an' it wus

mostly made of skin.

Sure its few cud handle a flail now. ( Thomas Mallon, Drum.art).

The Harvest Ccont.), "When we cut the Calliagh it was always brought in and bung to the II souple 11 •

The last lock of corn in

the field was plaited and cut. the sly.

Some does do it yet on

The Calliagh was always given to the owner.

Harvest bows were made at the same time and that night there'd be a party with 11 spirits 11 and tea and dancing. 11

(Mrs. McKinley, Clontygora.

Age 75).

uNearing the end of the harvest ye'd hev heared them shout in many a fiel 1 11 put up the Calliagh boys 11 •

And

the three handfuls wud be platted and then they'd raise the cry 11 cut her down, cut her down". 11 (Brigid Gormley, aged 90 in 1937), u1n the cutting of the Calliagh it was the reapingWhen all the corn hook that was used not the scythe. was down to a bit about the thickness of your arm, that Then a butt or mark was made and was left and plaited. the sickle thrown from there.

The throwing might last a

lihile and the man that would cut it would run with it to

the house and put it round the woman or girl of the house.

He got the first drink and in them days it was whiskey,

but sure that's the dear boy now even if people had time tor such things. 11 (Henry Garvey, Tullyvallen-Tipp ing (West), May 1941).

The Harvest Ccont,).

"I heard of the cutting of the Calliagh. was shorn then;

The corn

there were few scythes if any in those

A bunch of corn was left somewhere in the field

days.

and not cut until the evening when all was finished.

It was tied at the top in some way and the shearers stood back and fired their hooks.

He that cut it won a prize,

but what it was I don•t quite remember.

Probably he

got an extra helping of whiskey at the 11 Churn 11 • usual to cut it everywhere at one time.

It was

I heard of it

often."

(Patrick Lennon, Tullygarron, June 16, 1942.)

"The Calliagh was cut on the Gillespie farm here up until as recently as 50 years ago. but I beard all about it.

I never saw it done

The bringing of it in was

always followed by the Churn. 11

(Donnelly, Tullygoonigan, June 16, 1942).

"I still cut the Calliagh.

It was done in me

gran•father•s time an• in me father's days as well.

When it would be cut in their time there'd be a cheer an• they'd send for a quart of whiskey or mebbe they'd

have had it in, but there's nothin' of that kind now.

I 3ust plait it an• swing me scythe through it, but long

The Harvest <cont ..l ago it was done be the throwing of the hook.

In the

oul' days they shouted something when they cheered but I have no memory of what it was.

house for luck.

It goes into the

I'm not the only one here that does it

still an' there's always a special tea that evening.

It used to be called 11 the Churn 11 • A.lways at the end of the Calliagh there was a feast and often a wee bit of merriment as well. 11 (Henry Price, Killyfaddy.

June 1942).

I. niver heard of the cutting of the Calliagh but

11

I rememoer hearin' tell of a custom here .when the last stack of corn wud be built in harvest time.

· As soon as

it wus done one of the men would pluck a han'ful of oats from it an' rush in to the woman of the house with it, threatening till cut her throat with it unless he got a The oul' people that are gone knowed

drink or a kiss. all them capers. 11

(Drumcree Parish).

11

In Derrylard I saw the cutting of the Calliagh

less than 50 years ago.

The corn was plaited and sliced

bf the throwing of the sickle in a particular way known as back hand.

That method was necessary so as to make

tbe book Spin, for the plait could only be cut by a

!-G.

IQ3

The Harvest {cont.) circular motion.

The person cutting it was entitled to

the first drink at the harvest home and if he so desired the Calliagh was his to take to his own house.

Some-

'

times the women were allowed to throw the sickle also.

On the evening of the cutting there _was always a generous spread with whiskey and porter as the chief drinks • 11

(J. Pickering, 1942).

"The Calliagh was cut in your grandfather ,·s time. ( 2 ) Some good strong stalks were gathered into three parts and plaited.

Then a spot was chosen from which the

sickle was thrown.

When the Calliagh was finally cut

it was brought home and placed in the kitchen and all Those who could present were entertained to supper. sing did so and there were games of various kinds.

(M. Honeyford, 1942. uThe

11

Aged 80).

Calliagh was always plaited and tied and cut

and brought into

the house when I was a little girl.

I think it was cut originally by the throwing of sickles, but wen I saw it being done almost sixty years ago it

(2)

?ow.land of Mulladry.

The Harvest {cont.} vas the scythe that was used.

The particular evening

that marked the completion of the cutting of the corn was devoted to a feast and a party called 11 the Churn",

at which the men and girls were offered tumblers of fresh cream.

This was followed by a very special tea

and a dance.

My mother always danced the first dance

and there would always be a little fuss as to who should

be her partner.

She died young and my father never

held "churns 11 for the workers afterwards. 11

(Mrs. T. Hare, Cornagrally, Loughgilly Parish, formerly of Corcullentragh, Co. Armagh.

1941.)

.

u0n 'the evening on which the cutting of the corn

would be finished as much grain as could be comfortably spanned by a man's hand would be left standing in the corner of the field.

This was separated into three

parts, plaited and tied and cut by the throwing of a hook.

The man who cut it carried it into the house in triumph lfhere it hung until the next harvest.

The custom was

Called the cutting of the Calliagh and on that night there VOUld be a goodly spread and whiskey, wine, and porter for

the workers and su-ch of the neighbours as might be invited.

1'be feast itself was called 11 the Churn" and was different to tbe "Harvest Home" which took place later when all the

... .

The Harvest Ccont.) corn was in the haggard and was very much the same kind

of entertainme nt but with the addition of apple dumplings, then a favourite dish •

I r emem ber wrig h t's at the corner (3)

had Calliaghs going back for fifty years hanging round the walls. 11

(Matthew O'Hanlon, Manordogherty, 1941).

11

I heared of the Calliagh. .

At the cuttin~ of the

corn the last handful would be left uncut and that wud be 1

diVided in three and platted by one of the weemin who d be tying.

from a butt.

Then the men would throw their hooks at it I niver saw the hooks thrown at it but I

know that 1 s how it was done.

In my time it was cut by

the scythe, though mebbe it was done in the oul' way still by a body with oztly a rood of oats that they'd shear in the evenings when their work would be done on somebody's

farm. evening

We took the Calliagh into the house and that I heared of people there'd be a bit of a spread.

sending it to their neighbours whose harvest would not be finished.

But why they did it I do not know.

It was

•ebbe a joke, for them that got it would be very angry.

I ~as young then so I forget the reason why, if ever I knoved 1 t, which mebbe I didn't•

(J. D., Ballymore, aged 85.

11

1941).

(3) A public house at one time the home of a particularly

lively ehost. unlicensed.

The premises are now a farmhouse and

The Harvest (cont,) 11

1 remember sixty years ago when the Calliagh would have been platted and brought in and put round the neck

of the man of the house.

There was always a special tea on that evening called 11 the Churnu.

I never saw

the sickle thrown at Calliagh.

It was only used then

for shearing wheat for thatching . 11 (Henry Conn, Tullygoon igan).

It 1 s mebbe forty years since I last saw it cut an' tben it was at the Warden's of ·Tannagh Hill beside 11

Killylea.

There was always a big night when it was laid.

It Plenty of atein', a sup of drink an' a song or two. was plaited to be cut an' him that cut it, tuk it in an• put it about the neck of the boss of the house. was no man it wud be put aroun' the woman.

If there

I saw it cut

I mind first near Crossmag len, but many a time I saw it. seeing it done at Harrison' s of Drumlick, at Ballydoo an' The boys an• girls at Drumore in the county of Monaghan.

1n the harvest fields in them days made and wore harvest 11 knots but sure I haven• t seen one for years.

(Toal, Drumcairn e, near Armagh city. June 28, 1942).

The Harvest (cont.)

11

What they call the Calliagh wus the last bit of

The corn was plaited.

corn cut in the harvest.

ws sickles an' hooks then.

County of Down.

It

I saw it done often in the

I niver saw it done here but I know it

ws done and there'd be a feast after with plenty of all sorts of food an' drink.

I niver made Brigid's Crosses but I seen them done.

My sister made them.

I think she made them of straw

ormebbe it wus rushes.

(As

It's hard to mind now. 11

a very young boy he hired as a "servant boy" to

various farmers in Co. Down so that most of his life was

passed away from Shean town.land).

(Hug9 Campbell, Shean, near Forkhill.

June 28, 1942).

"You plait the Calliagh first an' then cut her.

In

my early days the boys plaited it from the ground and tied the top with some stalks of' the corn.

When it was cut

it was took in an' hung up in the kitchen an' there it stayed till the next harvest.

It is cut by the scythe

I have cut it myself with a The way it was done when I book but not be throwin' it.

now be them that does it.

Was wee was for three or four to throw at it from a butt.

1'bere•d always be a good cheer when it was cut.

The Harvest· ccont. l I saw lots of Brigid I s Crosses made.

They were stuck up in the roof of the ho·uses, on the·1ns1"d e between the ribs an• the scraw.

The cross I saw was

They were sometimes made of straw.

On May Eve a wee tree would be stuck in the midden to put the Mayflowers on, but there's no runnin' for Mayflowers now.

I was a wee runner about then but I

mind well. 11 (John Kelly, Lathbirget, near Mullabawn.

June 28,1942).

nThe people that I used to see do it were the remains of people who sheared w.i.th the hook.

They shore all but

a wee bit of corn in the corner of the field.

They

plaited it an• then they all stud back an• threw at it.

In my time it was beginnin' to be done be the scythe.

When the Calliagh be cut there'd always be a trate of some

kind with a feed an• lots of drink an• that even on the Smallest farms.

A man would often say then to the people

who'd be workin' for him - "if ye can finish the day we'~ll an' I'll provide ye w.i.th an extra pint". be in tron of Nobody wanted to be last then an' sometimes two days ~ork

I nive~ saw harvest knots made.

1f0uld be done in one. \hen the Calliagh would be a cuttin', the young ones VOUl.d be in a bother.

They thought she was in the corn

The Harvest {cont.) an' would be watching for her to run from it.

If a

bare fled from the field near the end, as often happened , 11 I the oul ones would say there she. goes, but she, ill come back an• we'ill tie her up in the corner. ones were satisfie d.

An' the young

They took no part in the throwin'

but they shared in the feast. n

(Michae l Murphy, Drum.illy, South Armagh. June 28, 1942. ) "I saw a Calliagh in the house · of Mr. Frank Cullen of Balling allia, a few miles south of Armagh city on June 20, 1942, who told me he always brought it in at harvest time though "the Churn 11 is no longer celebrat ed.

He was formerly of Tullygar ron about the same number of llliles north of the city. 11 (Frank Cullen, Balling allia.)

Every"My father told me all about the Calliagh . thing was shorn then by the hook an' in a field every man There'd always be a have his own rig to shear.

VOUl.d , handi"uJ_ of the best corn plaited from the roots an' tied Then the men that were shearing would stand The one that Up an• cut it-. with flings of their hooks. cut it put i t around the neck of the owner of the corn an'

at the top.

The 1:breatened to choke him if he did not get a gift.

Prize was mostly the first drink at the Churn, a great

The Harvest <cont, > teast that follo~ed after.

They used to have great

bonfires here on Midsummer Eve but that has all passed.

IYery hill had one even if it was only a bottle of straw

on a pole.u (Alex. Fleming Johnston, Tullybrone.

29th June, 1942).

"When it come to the last lock they looked for the

best they cud see an' divided it in three an• plaited it.

They then tossed for who wud throw first an• then stud back f'ive or six yards an' threw hooks at it.

When it

wus cut an' they might be some time doin' it, they'd raise a cheer.

Him that cut it carried it in an' it wud be hung

up till the next year so that the house might never want

That night there'd be a feed.

I saw a Calliagh 4 in Tom Kelly's of the Grey Stone( )1ately that wus cut corn.

last harvest. u (Patrick McKernan, Corran.

June 29, 1942).

uAt the finish of the cuttin' they'd take three Then That was the Calliagh. ban•.ru1s and plait them.

In the days of hooks it wus done be tb91• d cut it.

ci., 4 monolith linked with stories of St. Patrick's adventures with a bull that destroyed each night all that Patrick built by day.

*·

:Loi .

The Harvest {cont.} throv.Ln' an' wus tricky.

When it wus cut there'd be

a cheer an' the one that downed it would throw it roun'

the neck of the man of the fiel' an' haul' him prisoner till he promised them all drinks.

When I wus young

there wus still a little shearin 1 done for thatching,

but I ni ver saw it cut but be the sweep of a scythe. 11 (Patrick Ke.enru;1, Granemore). u1 saw the Calliagh cut at Lisnisk in LoughgiHy

Parish as late as 1914 on Francis Bell's farm there.

I heard of it here also.

The Bells did it always.

It was plaited an' then snigged off with the scythe.

The plaiting was done from the roots an' the heads tied After it was With string an' dressed with a corn band.

cut it was taken in an' hung on the jamb-wall. I saw They were wore in the harvest knots an' made them. button-hole as a bit of frigari.

Some ~ere knotted but

others were shaped like hearts and diamonds.

(Samuel Herron, Carran.

11

June 30, 1942.)

•The way of it was they'd shear round the corn 1•annc a lock of the best standing.

Them th at

were When the

lbear1n• would stan' back an' fling the hook.

CIJ.l1a1b was down there'd be a bit of a cheer an' the one

The Harvest Ccont.) that got it would run to the house with it an' put it round the neck of the oul' man or oul' woman of the house an' houl' it there till a trate was promised.

In oul' days it would have been carried out too in a field where there was only one shearer. it then.

I

Everybody did

Few do it now but I will as long as I 1 m able.

don't mind Brigid's Crosses made here but I have They were made of rushes.

seen them.

talked of them.

49 years ago.

My grandmother

She was 88 when she died an' that was May flowers were gathered then on May

Eve an' put on all the doors an' window-sills, cattle-

houses an' all an' they were _always put at the well.

I

On Mid-summer Eve there'd he bonefires but they have Vanished.

I mind an I oul I woman who lived nixt us an 1

the Eve niver passed that she did not go out on the hill an' light a whin or a bottle of straw.

5

The Grey Stone< )

on the hill is a long ti~e there.

There are stories

about it but I don't mind them.

One had to do with the

Bull. of Armagh that knocked down ivery stone, ivery night, that was built on Carrick beyond at the time that it was (5')

2

The Harvest {cont.) chose for the City of Armagh.

Th ere was another about

a giant throwin' it from the same place_ a left-handed

,1ant at that - for his thumb and finger marks are on it.

The heather never grows close to the stone, there's always a ring of grass round it.

,rand.mother' s time.

It was that way too in my

11

(James Kelly, Carran.

June 30, 1942).

I cut the Calliagh.

I cut it last year, but in

11

a short time it will be clane quit here for I'm no longer fit till do it.

fun.

In the oul' days it was better

· It was then done be the hook and the fiel' would

be full of' youngsters. it was cut.

cuttings.

It was plaited an' dressed before

I mind a blind man who used to be at all the It was him that first toul' me the male that

come after was 11 the Churn 11 •

We called it all the Calliagh.

I mind once workin' for Mr. Paterson of Lisnadill.

He wasn't at the cuttin' for he had pains.

When we

brought it in we were goin' to put it about his neck but be Said un0 Boys" said he "there's a rule for the Calliagh it's roun' the woman of the house it should always go."

So we -put it roun' his wife an' she put her ban' in her PUrse and gave me five shiilings for I was the one that

cut it.

Cl'eat tun.

That bought two quarts of whiskey an' we had

He was a well-read man so I •m sure he was

3

The Harvest Ccont.) right.

His wife was well-off an' niver missed the money,

she bad plenty.

They were a dacent family but sure their

house is emp'y now.

They run to girls an' girls don't

carry on oul' names.

The Calliagh should never be burned with the grain

on it.

That must be ·sown in the spring or given to the

birds or animals. 11 (James Hughes, Corran).

wli·lAGH 1.,1 SCELLAiv;EA. The Chrj stmas Rhymer~ It is over sixty years ago since I first saw the

Cbristw.as Rhyw.ers and heard them sing or recite their various parts in their ancient yuletide play.

I still

bave a vivid recollectio n of that particular evenini.

fnfortunate ly I was then too young to retain any clear 111.emory of the costumes worn.

I have only a vague

remembrance of flowing beards, fantastic hats, black and painted or masked faces, long coats and oddly

behaved and weirdly dressed women.

I heard the players annually from about 1896 until 1908 and then afterwards from time to time but not until 194~ did I again come into contact with them.

l then found them flourishin~ in the pa.Tish of Druw.cree and thought it advisable to record the words for fu.~~re reference.

I also discovered in the same year that in

an area covered by the parishes of Ballymore and Mul.lavilly

Tbe the custom had continued until the out bread of war. h 1 - · roa in close proxi.mi ty to t.....,. ivi.~ •v sets of players, thoug

each other, dressed quite differently. nnd er:The Drumcree Players had a caS t as white ...urousars , sword l. St. George. Redndtunic, plumed bat. ·c white trousers, a Black tuni 't with Turkey feathers 2. Turk. green bere .

and sword.

z:.

The Christmas Rhymers (cont,l 3.

Old Woman.

Red flannel petticoat shawl and stick. '

4.

Doctor.

Talldhat, black coat, case an umbrella.

5.

Cromwell .

Red coat, white trous·ers sword and huge false nose. '

6.

St. Patrick.

Rob~ decorated with gold and s~lver pa~er and carrying a gilt crozier.

7.

Beelzebub .

Bl~ck coat, white trousers, stick in hand and frying pan on shoulder.

8.

Big Belly.

Dressed in huge padded trousers and wearing long beard.

9.

Di vil Doubt.

Red coat, white trousers, face blacked and carrying a besom.

10.

John Funny.

All in white, red hat and carrying money-box.

:&lqu.irie s amongst the fathers and grandfath ers of the players elicited the fact that the characters formerly

,wore plaited straw hats with coloured streamers and feathers and had their limbs encased in straw ropes;

shirts or coats worn inside out completed their costumes.

The Ballymore -Mullavill Y rhymers were dressed in a

less colourfu l mal'll1er but more in keeping with the older tradition s.

They wore long shirts over their ordinary

tlothes, tied at the waist by a coloured scarf and all °'1'r1ed swords made from the backs of scythes.

Hats

The Christmas Rhymers {cont,) were usually made from old-fashioned strong white seven to fourteen pound paper flour bags and adorned with coloured streamers, but others wore cone-s h aped head-gear

of the type commonly known as dunce caps and decorated in the same way.

Legs they neatly encased in _11 leggings" of

straw ropes or in long women's stockings.

Their

characters were as follows:1.

St. George.

5.

Cromwell.

2.

Turk.

6.

St. Patrick.

3.

Turk's father.

7. Beelzebub.

4.

Doctor

8.

9.

Divily Doubt.

Big Head.

The Rhymers were popular with all creeds and classes, despite the fact that they quite frequently added to the authorized versions topical or personal verses as a kind of encore.

These were very witty indeed and a source of

great amusement, for they_dealt ballad-fashion with the love affairs of the district, and peculiarities of indiViduals of the immediate neighbourhood.

Political

and public figures were also good-humouredly lampooned as Well -as local celebrities.

One feels that it would add considerably to the

interest of the Christmas festivities if Young FaI'!llers'

Tbe Christmas Rhymers

(cont,}

Clubs were to encourage and revive these annual performances.

Such plays would bring young people together and

no doubt, prove as enjoyable a wi·nter en t er t ainment as any form of social or dance.

I.

DRffi.:ICR.EE VERSION.

1-iASTER OF CEREHONIES:

R?om, room, brave gallant boys, Give us room to rhyme.

To we show a bit of our activity At this Christmas time.

Active ye>uth and active age, The like was never acted on a sta~e.

If ye don't believe what I say, Enter in St. George and clear the way.

ST. GEORGE:

Here comes I, St. George, from England have I sprung, And many a noble deed of valour have I done.

For years I was in close quarters kept, And out of that into a prison leapt, And out of that into a block of stone, Where I u1ade many a sad and grievous moan.

Many a giant did I subdue, And I ran the fiery dragon through and through.

I fought them all courageously, Until I earned the victory.

Show me tbe man tbat dare me stand, A.nd I will cut him down, with my courageous hand.

TURK:

I• m the man that dare ye challenge, Though your courage be so great, With my sword I make all to shake, Even dukes and earls to quake.

ST. GEORGE: 'Who are you but a poor s-illY lad.

The Christmas Rhymers (cont.)

TUBK:

I am a Turkish champion From Turkey land I came' To_fight you, the great'st. George be na:;ie, Ana I say, by George, you are a liar sir, So draw your sword and try, sir! ' St. George and the Turkish champion engage in sword The Turk falls and his mother enters weeping and uying -

plaY.

TURK I s 1-iOTHER:

St. George, St. George. Oh, what have ye done.

You have killed me only son.

See him lying bleeding there, Oh, my heart is sinking in despair.

A doctor, a doctor, ten pounds for a doctor.

Is there ·ne'er a doctor to be found. wbo can cure me son of his deep and mortal wound?

Enter the doctor.

TURK'S MOTHER:

Well, doctor, what is your medicine?

DOCTOR:

Hens pens and Turkish treacle, Bum-bee eggs and midges bac~n, Stirred up with a great_ cats feather, Mixed in a mouse's bletner, And ~iven thrice a day.

He sits up and gives k tb Doctor attends to the Tur· aoks.

TURK: b t w I •m alive, Once I was dead u d :ri~ r that made me revive, God bless the I weeb ?ecv~ in the words I say, And if ye don t e1 1 -- .

Enter in Sir Oliver Cromwell, And he will clear the way·

f+Je C11ristljlas Rhymers Ccont,) Ci:lOMWELL:

~ere comes I, Sir Oliver Cromwell. As ye may suppose, I have conquered many nations with my long and copper nose, I have caused my foes to tremble, And all my enemies to quake, Sure I bate me own companions, Until they were no longer fit to spake.

I sbot the divil through a reel, And through an oul 1 spinning wheel, T"11rough a bag of pepper, Through a horse-shoe -cocker.

Such a man was never known.

And if ye don't believe the words that I say, Enter in St. Patrick and he will clear the way.

ST. PATRICK:

Here comes I, St. Patrick_, in my shinin' armour bright, I was once a noble champion, but now a worthy knight.

I fed my sheep on oats and hay, And after that I ran away, If ye don 1 t believe the words that I say, Enter in Beelzebub and he will clear the way.

B&.LZEBUB:

Here comes I, Beelzebub, And over me shoulder I carry me club, And in llie band a dripping-pan, Anq I count myself a jolly fine man.

And if ye don 1 t believe the words that I say, Enter in Big-Bellied Ned and he will clear the way.

NED:

Here comes I, Big-bellied Ned, I£ ye cantt give me money, give me plenty of bread, For when I was young I was not well fed, But now they call me Big-bellied Ned. It ye don't believe in the words that I say, BDter 1n wee Divil Doubt and he will clear the way.

.2..JJ. foe Qhrjstmas Rhymers (cont.)

DI VIL DOUBT: Here comes I, wee Divil Doubt, If ye don't give me money, I'll sweep ye all out, Money I want and money I crave, If ye don't give me money, I'll sweep ye till your grave.

If ye don't believe in the words that I say, .iiioter in John Funny and be will clear tbe way.

J Olli FUNNY:

Here comes I, the bold John Funny, I'm the man that lifts the money, ill silver and no brass, Bad ha'pence won't pass, Send the farthings to Belfast.

After the collection is made the plaY.ers chant the

followin~ verse:-

God bless the master of this house, Likewise the mistress, too.

May their barns be filled with wheat and corn, And their hearts be always true.

A merry Christmas is our wish, Where 1 er we do appear, To you a well-filled purse, A well-filled dish, And a happy bri~ht New Year.

Players bow and retire.

II.

BALLYMORE-.t-HJLLAVILLY VERSION.

Room, room, brave gallant boys,

And iive us room to rhyme, fo we show ye some activity, This happy Christmas time.

Active youth and active age, '.L'he like was never acted on the stage, If ye don't believe the words I say, .inter in st. Georie and he will clear the way.

Tha Christmas Rhymers (cont,) ST. G.EORGE: From England have I sprung, One of taose noble deeds of valour to begin, For seven long years was I in a close cave kept, Ar!d out of that into a locked prison leapt • .And out of that into an old and rusty stone, W'nere I made many a sad and grievous moan.

Many a giant did I subdue, By running my dagger through and through, I saved poor Sabo from the fiery stake, W"nat ~ore could mortal undertake?

I fought them all courageously, .And always won the victory, lsngland 1 s right and Ireland's wrong, Sbow me the man that dare me stand, .And I w.i.11 cut him down with my right hand.

Here comes I, St. George.

The Turk now makes his entrance.

TUBK:

Here am I the man that dare ye stand.

ST. GEORGE: And who are you but a poor silly lad.

TURK: I am a Turkey champion, from Turkey land I came, To .fight you, great St. George by name, I will cut ye and slash ye and send ye out to Turkey, And af'ter that is done fi~bt every man in Christendom. tbe 111,~k and St. George draw swords. After some sword-play •"-l"k fa11s and his father rushes in crying '.l.lJRK 1 S FATHER:

Oh, Geor&ehOh, George, what have ye dona, ed my one and only son.

Ye have k1

The Christmas Rhymers Ccont,J ST. GEORGE:

He challenged me to fight, sir, And why should I deny him, sir?

st. George now steps forward and stands astride the

bodY of the Turk.

ST. GEORGE:

I will cut him into four quarters, sir, On this very ground where he doth lie, sir. 'i"URK I s FATHER:

If ye cut him into four quarters, Your body I will soon destroy, A doctor, a doctor, ten pounds for a doctor, Is there no doctor to be found To cure my son of bis deep and mortal wound?

The doctor enters wearing tall hat and carrying bag

from wich he produces a large bottle.

TURK'S FATHER:

What is your medicine, doctor?

DOCTOR: Hens pens, peesy weezy, midges eyes and bumbees bacon, Heart's blood of the smoothing iron, the juice of the tongs, •The brains of the bellows, three turkey eggs three miles long.

Give Jack a drop of this and he will rise and sin~ a song.

!Cu.rk recovers, sits up, then stands.

TURK: .

Once I was dead but now I'm alive, God bless the doctor that made me revive,

1(

The Christmas Rhymers (cont,) Wonderful, wonderful things have I seen Seventeen old women knocked into ninete~n And ?ut of_nineteen into full twenty-four; And if ye cton't believe the words that I say Enter in Oliver Cromwell and he will clear ' the way.

CROiv.iWELL: · Here comes I big Oliver Cromwell with my long and copper nose, I have conquered many nations as you may well suppose, I made the French to tremble and the Germans for to quake, I bate the bludy Dutchmen till their hearts were fit to ache, And if ye don't believe the words that I say, Enter in St. Patrick and he will clear the way.

ST. PATRICK:

Here comes I, St. Patrick, in my shining armour bright, I am a worthy champion come to fight this very night, Who was St. George but St. Peter's sarvent boy?

Who fed his horse on oats and hay and after ran away, And if ye don't believe the words that I say, Enter in Beelzebub and he will clear the wa:y.

BE&L~B. Here comes I Beelzebub, Over me shoulder I carry me club, And in me han' a drippin' pan, I count meself a jolly wee man, And if ye don't believe the words that I say, Enter in Big Head and he will clear the way.

BIG HEAD: Here comes I who niver come yit,

Big head and little wi ~

• The more my head's so big my body's small, ~t 1 1 11 do my best to plazB ye all. ~d it ye don't believe the words that I say, J2.nter into wee Divily Doubt and he will clear

the way.

t.

r - ----------- ----------- ----~----

21.S

The Christmas Rhymers Ccont.)

DI VILY DOUBT:

Here comes I, wee Divily Doubt, If ye don I t give me money, I 111 sweep ye all out, honey I want and money I crave, If ye don I t give me money I 1 11 sweep ye to the grave.

Di vi l y Doubt now collects the money in a large purse whilst ti1 e players stand in two lines facing each other, singi ng t he following verse to which they beat time (by sword-pl ay ) with each other.

Your cellar doors are locked, And we are like to choke; And it's all for the drink that we sing; Sing, boys, sing.

And women round the fire with pockets full of money, And men with barrells full of~golden beer.

Sure it's all for the d~ink-""that we sing.

Sing, boys, sing. __ A merry Christmas 1.s our wish, And a happy bright New Year.

I h ave no recollection of St. Patrick in the play as I first h eard it but later I was to discover that the cast varied in certain district.

For instance I clearly

remember two characters known as Jack Straw and Funny Face but i n th e two versions quoted they are missing.

At t i· mes the rhymers were accompanied by a couple of flute Playe rs and on a December rrigbt it was pleasant to listen to th e mu sic of tbe flutes coming nearer.

I also reme~ber that in the early days of my knowledge of th e players they wore high cone-soaped hats fashioned

The Christmas R.~vmers (cont.) ·ro~ ,.'. eat or oat straw with twisted ropes of the same oataria

i:o rn putee fashion on their legs.

At that time

t he r!,. _er s were frequently accompanied by a number of young ra e~1 dressed in women's clothes, who towards the end o~ t :1e performance gave an exhibition dance.

They

were ofteu the most diverting part of the whole show, fo r not a lonei did they wear whatever they could find in ti1e ua y of female garments, but each managed to somehow se cure and wear a pair of well-starched and much be-frilled wh i te ~mi ckers and no stage comedienne could have displayed t hem more amusingly.

Ti1e version in South .A:rmagh has been noted by Nichael Murpby in "At Slieve Gullion's Foot 11 , (l)that delightful book of e ssays on folk customs around the slopes of that rom antic mountain, and the variant is all the more interesti ng because of bis personal participation in many performances.

I ha ve not heard of the

Rbymers 11 in recent years,

L1

and I fea r the custom has become extinct, chiefly due I t hi nk to tpe fact that it entails considerable walking capa ci t y , a form of activity that seems to have departed f r om our country districts.

(l)

P age s 81-85.

ARl_AGH kil SCELLANM,

Festivals,

Hallow E'en Customs, In the county as a whole this was, and indeed st ill

is one of the most popular festivals of the year.

It

was a night of practical, though not always not appr eci a te d,

jokes - pranks that continue down to the present days . fbesa were carried out by the younger people who because of tbe possibility of meeting ghosts around midnight,

travelled in small groups and on their way about the countryside if neighbours were known not to be on spe aking terms, it was customary for material belonging to one far t1

to be moved and replaced by objects from the otbe~ ..

Sometimes this resulted in the parties renewing fri endship -

but not always.

Nuts and apples formed part of the Hallow E'en .1' east and frUi t cakes commonly called ubarnbracks

11

•

The- .latter

had often a ring concealed within it, or possibly as all 9

1lver coin.

There were a number of odd practices c arried.

oUt such as spinsters and bachelors using charms to

discover what kind of husband or wife they might a cqUi re .

Certain things were taboo then. ~Ol'bidden f rom Oct. 31.

Blackberries were

When I was a' small boy I wou ld

nave been a~raid to eat them after tbat date as I h ad be en

21't-

Hallow E'en Customs Ccont.) warned that the "Devil would get me 11 even if I only ate a few of the ripest.

Most people then dug their

potatoes in the last days of the month or early in November and stored them in 11 bings 11 or 11 clamps 11 wherein under their warm earthen covers they kept remarkably well.

The digging of the potatoes within that period

was considered essential but I neglected to enquire why

it should have been so.

The season was commonly spoken of as Hollintide and marked the end of summer.

These few stories were taken down from old friends aged 70 years or over and as late as 1939.

Unfortunately

when doing so I accidentally omitted in certain instances names and dates.

liaJJ 0 v' s Ey~. ".A. girl we knowed was walking the bog-loanin' one

Hallow' s Eve when she met a crowd of people.

An' when

t bey got nearer she saw among them an oul' sweetheart of

bers that she had heared was lying with a brash.Cl)

An'

She ·Said till him 11wudn, t ye be better in yer bed than on the loanin' this hour of the night 11 •

(l) brasb - a serious type of illness.

.A.n' he shuk

.3-.

Hallow E•an Customs {cont.) he's head an' said 11 the day's too long for the livin' She

an' the night too short for them that's gone". thought it a quare answer.

An 1 he jist passed on

with the others an' left her there.

An• the nixt

mornin' she heared that he had died the night before.

She knowed then that they wur all ghosts she had seen.

She wsn I t out late the nixt Halloween - sowl no! 11 (Taken down from an old lady in a town.land adjoining Derrymacash near Lurgan.

An almost similar story is

preserved in an AE notebook in the George Russell NS collection in Armagh County Museum, which Russell intended to use in a play).

A Hallow E'en Prank, "Some fellas played Mickey a trick once.

They

"Waited for him till come out and when he faced up the road for a cailey they weren't long till they had the hasp from the dure.

Then they got the donkey-cart

and they undid its wheels.

And they got the cart and

the wheels inside the house and then they took the donkey in and harnessed it into the bludy cart.

When

that was done they closed the dure again and drove home the hasp.

And when Mickey come home bedad the ass

bad backed against the dure and it was through the

~

12v .

Hallow E'en Customs (cont.) window he had till go.

Bedad he got a worse fright then

than if be I d got in be the dure ! 11

Jgthin~ can meddle ye there, "If you are on a haunted road at night, be sure ye

walk in the middle, right in the horse's tracks.

Nothin&

Ye will be as safe as ye like.

Nothing can meddle ye there. 11 <2 ) can hurt ye then.

Hallow E 1 en.

"We had great fun at Hallow E'en!

One of the

things to do was pluck a cabbage with your eyes shut, and place it somewhere in the house near the door.

The

first boy that entered would be your husband but some nights nobody .e ntered at all.

We swung apples from the souple(3)and some people ducked for them.

Fairy Glen.

On that night we wouldn I t go near the

They'd take ye then, if they could, it was

It wasn't a good Said, so nobody went out after dark.

111 &ht to be out anyhow, because of them that might be Valk:ine . u ( 4)

Mrs. McKinley, Clontygora, aged 75.

(Z)

Horses are supposed to be very sensitive to ghosts . on Hall.ow E'en.

(J)

!his seems to have been applied to a beam in the k1 tchen but the word ttsually means the outer arm of

a tla11.

l...=====~"IlOst s ot those who died during the year.

Hallow E'en Customs {cont,) lla.l lr:we en· 11

At Halloween the younger 11 fry 11 took doors, gates

and barrows, and hid or threw them into flax holes - and indeed such things happen still.

They let the cattle

out too and sometimes they were never found.

We ducked( 5) 6 for apples and we swu.ni )apples.

The wraiths of people come back on that night.

A man saw a girl on one such

night and she was dead in America. 11 Sheetrim.

Boys dressed in sheets.

"Boys dressed in sheets with kail runts for horns, and tails made of straw ropes, used to parade on this

night and frighten people to death.u Thomas Quinn, Sbeetrim McMahon, near Crossmaglen, lfovember, 1939.

11

Early in October we began to gather hazel nuts in

th e little glen at Agbory, so that they might be dry and fit for use at Hallow E'en.

-We always had our own apples.

We ducked for them in tubs or crocks of water and tried to (5) (6)

•pples ware placed in a tub of water and had to be removed 11 by mouth 11 • 4n apple was suspended on a string and had to be oau1bt 11 1,y mouth 11 •

6-.

2~2. .

Hallow E'en Custmn~ (cont.) secure them in our mouths.

We also suspended them from

tbe kitchen ceiling with string and attempted to bite

them and when tired playing with them sat down and ate

them.

We had other special games and father would

procure pictures on the wall by folding his hands into all sorts of odd shapes between the light and the wall.

They were mostly silhouettes of birds and animals and be had a most wonderful lot of old rhymes to go with them.

If aunts or uncles or young people of more mature years than ourselves were present, nuts were named for courting couples and the trend of the courtship foretold by

the manner in which they were consumed by the fire.

That we regarded-as a waste of our precious nuts.

There

was always a large football apple dumpling on that night.

This was a much appr~ciated feature of the proceedin~s especially amongst our elders who consumed their portions udro'WD.ed in Old Coleraine 11 • Quite frequently visitors forgot that we were present and launched out into the most ghastly and detailed accounts of the dead who had died during the yea:r coming

back on that night for a last look ~t their old homes.

Later ldlen we were boys of sixteen or seventeen we were able to sneak off and knock our neiihbours' doors, or

Hallow E'en Customs (cont.) llith a turnip scooped out to represent a skull and a lighted candle inside it and one of mother's sheets suitably draped around the carrying pole, tour the Onesuch night we

countryside annoying all and sundry.

appeared on the side of a flax-hole unexpe~tedly when some slightly younger boys were about to immerse a pair of harrows in the stagnant water.

They fled in

consternation and we finished the job. 11 Cornascreibe, Co . .Armagh.

G.P., aged 75,

ARMAGH MISCELLANEA, Festivals.

May Eye. In County Armagh May Day has always been regarded as the beginning of Summer.

11

April showers have brought

forth May blooms" and the current greeting to visitors still is "sure you are as welcome as the flowers in May 11 • Many old customs associated with the day were current as late as the end of the 19th century.

Some families

for instance never failed to wait for the smoke rising from a neighbour's chimney before lighting a fire on their own hearth.

The reason for that particular

observance I have never been able to discover.

It was

also believed that horses or cows left in the fields on that night would meet with mishaps and that May Day was an unlucky occasion on which to buy clothes or hunt hares.

On May Eve and May morning, Queens of May yet parade in the streets of the city of Armagh escorted by their 1aapish attendants.

The Queen usually wears a wreath of

flowers and a flowing white veil and carries in her tint hands a wand or a bunch of flowers.

She is usually the

Youngest and prettiest member of the party and if she is

or tender years, journeys around in a little decorated ~

~a4e out of an old box or perhaps in a low chair-like

May Eye Ccont, l type of pram.

Sometimes the party includes several

young boys.

These few stories were taken down between 1929 and

• 1939, from men and women, all of whom had exceeded the tbree score years and ten.

Many of them stated that

their grandparents always kept their May Day on May 11th.

The tales are a mixed bunch, and unfortunately in some

instances I have not noted the names of the people who told them to me and in others it will be noticed that the townland verification is missing also. uA hundred times I gathered Mayflowers in Henry

Billy's meadow.

When we hed gathered a lot they'd be

thrown at the well, at the byre dure and in front of the dure of the house.

We'd gather sheaves of them.

We

always put a lot at the well an' ye hed to watch them or it•s stolen they'd be.

They'd be taken for luck, but

that vud be less luck for to you.· Many a time we gathered th em in John Larry Quinn' s meadows an' in Hughie Tom John Mckahon• s."

Terence Toner.

•we gathered Mayflowers always an' put a lock at the 1'ell an• at the house-dure, the byre-dure an' stable-dure.

May Eve (cont.)

It was done for luck an' protection from mischiefs, but

sure the childer the day are careless of such things an• lazy bestdes - they'd hardly go for them now. 11

John Haughie, Armaghbrague.

11

0n the day of May Eve we'd all be gathering May

flowers to throw aroun' the dures to keep the witches an' fairies at a distance, an' the man .or woman who got the first go of water from the well on May mornin' got the fiower of the year's water an• the luck as well."

Armagh br ague.

May flowers were gathered then on May Eve an' put

11

on all the doors an' window-sills, cattle houses an' all, an' they were always put at the well.

An' if we found a

house without May flowers we'd scatter nettles on the roof and window-sills

to show them that they were no credit

till thei}' neighbours. 11

Corran.

"When I was a wee one I'd always be out on May Eve

but not after sunset mind ye. till be out then.

It wasn't thought right

We'd all gather togither an' pull

blilbea an• Mayflowers.

An' the Mayflowers we would tie

May Eve <cont , > on the bushes an' when we all had posies we'd march the townlan' over.

I don't mind why we did it, but we did

it an' liked it well. 11

Carran. uon May Eve w~'d be sent to get Rowantree branches an' gather May flowers, an' when we brought them home they'd be put on the duresteps an' windows . 11

Bernard McCreesh. uMayflowers were gathered and thrown and left at the well.

There were people here in the oul' days

who'd have sat up all night till be first at the well

in the morning. 11 Sheetrim McMahon, Near Crossmaglen, Nov. 1939. nDow to fifty years ago May Eve was practised here.

!here was some kind of witchcraft about it.

On May Eve,

May blossoms were plucked before sunset and scattered on

th e house an• at the well an' it wasn't lucky to have a

•traneer take water from it first on that mornin'. 11 Michael Murphy, Drumilly, 1942.

'

;2_'2.. '

May Eve Ccont , } "On May Eve care was taken to lime the wells and A wild and rainy May

put mayflowers about the doors.

was said to fill the haggards with corn and hay . 11 Mr. Mallon, Clontygora, 1939.

11

Then aged 70 years.

0n the last day of April, we as children were

sent to gather Mayflowers.

When we brought them home

some were placed in front of the doors and on the window sills besides around the doors of all the office houses.

At some time on the same afternoon we would

be instructed to go to the nearest rowan-tree and carefully break from it some twigs.

These we were

later sent to plant -in each tilled field on the farm."

M. Devlin, Cullybanna.

2-2.q ,

A..•iHAGH HI SCELLANEA,.

August 15th Local tradition links this festival with pilgrimages to wells.

For instance Lady's Well in Seagoe Rectory

grounds was visited on this day down to the 185O's about which time it was filled in.

In the Glebe lands attached to the parish there is a portion still known as Kilvergan - "the Church of the Virgin 11 - though no indication of the site or documentary evidence regarding it survives.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians processions which generally take place on that day, though not so colourful or so well attended as the Orange "walks", are equipped with banners and music and thus somewhat similar in form though different in politics.

2.~0.

St. Patrick's Day (17th March), Rosettes made of coloured ribbons and called St. Patrick's crosses were f?rmerly worn on this day by the men but girls are said to h~ve worn crosses made of cardboard or thin wood which they covered in coloured wools:

Now both sexes wear

the same type and green seems the favourite colour.

This day formerly marked the beginning of agricultural activities, and fifty years ago it was the recognized time for the planting of early potatoes.

On it uthe warm side

of the stone turned up 11 , and we often heard the old slogan "On Candlemas Day throw the candle away, On Patrick's Day throw candle and candlestick away."

In the county shamrock is worn by all classes and creeds and the e~re s sion "drowning the shamrock" fully under stood and approved - and indeed the story of the saint's use of it

as an il~ustration of the Trinity equally heartily accepted.

It is a very special day in that it is an occasion on which old friends meet and new friendships and associations come into being.

Coming as it does before the austerities of

Lent it is perhaps the most appreciated holiday of the year.