School: Berrings (Measctha) (roll number 4186)

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   “Lady Day, as the 25th of March The Day of The Annunciation was called was the day on which farm labourers removed when changing from one employer to another.”

   

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   Lady Day as the 25th of March, The Day of The Annunciation was called was the day on which farm labourers removed when changing from one employer to another. This was more or less confined to married labourers, who needed a "workman's house". This custom has almost died out, as most farm labourers have houses of their own in this district now.
   Shrove Parties some years ago very seldom got married at any time except Shrove, and Shrove Tuesday was a specially busy day in that direction as it was the last day of Shrove.
   On Shrove Tuesday night many years ago it was the custom for young people to collect old buckets, cans etc. which they tied together by means of a rope. Pulling these after them, they visited the houses of marriageable parties with the intention of taking them to "Skellig"- a bare rock near the Kerry coast. This was to be a punishment for their letting Shrove pass without getting married. Sometimes parties with disguised faces entered the homes of marriageable folk, and tried to remove them by force to "Skellig Rocks", this was all regarded as a joke.
   When a boy and girl were "great" with each other but didn't get married, some local "poet" made a song about them called "A Skellig List". This song was heard towards the end of Shrove.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Daniel O' Driscoll

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Berrings, Co. Cork