School: Tyrrellspass (2) (roll number 13743)
- Location:
- Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: Mrs Payne
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0731, Page 133
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- XML School: Tyrrellspass (2)
- XML Page 133
- XML “May - Its Customs and Superstitions”
- XML “A Game I Play”
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- (continued from previous page)round the whole farm. You should never let anyone bring in hawthorn into your house for if you do you will have bad luck. Some of the old customs are:- dressing the May bush. A Hawthorn blossomed bush is got and is dressed with flowers and put outside the house. This thing is done on May morning. If you have no bush flowers are thrown on the doorstep instead. The Maypole was also held in an open field or at a cross roads. There was a big pole got and a lot of ribbons tied on it and people danced round it on the 1st of May. Another old custom was going round blessing the crab trees to make them fruitful. Girls got up by 'New Time' on May morning to wash their faces in May dew to make themselves beutiful.
I think these are nice old customs all of which are still kept up to the present day in many paces. Up at Croghan about four miles from here many of these old customs are still rigidly observed.
Kathleen Payne Age 13.
Tyrrellspass
Co. Westmeath
Inf got from John \Kelly (The Poet) of Castletown and Tyrrellspass aged about 80
- People play all sorts of games throughout the year mostly in the Summer and Autumn. It is nearly always the children and young people that play games. There is one Game I like playing very well(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Tillie Fair
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 12
- Address
- Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath
