School: Crossdoney (roll number 10811)
- Location:
- Crossdoney, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: Miss Elizabeth Rea
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0990, Page 324
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- XML School: Crossdoney
- XML Page 324
- XML “Festival Customs”
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- In this district there are a few festival customs carried on. On St. Patrick's day the people wear shamrocks, & green ribbons.
On Easter Monday, the children in this district have parties out in the fields, & they make tea, & eat a lot of eggs, & they spend their time all day playing games, & kicking football.
On Hallow Eve night the children have great fun cracking nuts, playing games & tricks. Some young boys dress up & go from house to house. With the money they make, they buy cigarettes with it. In this district the people make Boxty bread for Hallow Eve.
On St Stephen's Day a lot of young children and lads go about from house to house singing the wren song. They are dressed up in old clothes so that one would not know them. At every house they go to they get a few pence. This is the wren song, that they sing
I
"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds.
St. Stephen's day she was caught in a furze.
Although she was small, her family was great
Rise up landlady, & give us a treat.
II
We chased her from bush to tree,
In Donnelly's hollow she broke her knee,
So up with the kettle & down with the pan
Or give us an answer & let us be gone.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- James Scott
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Clonloskan, Co. Cavan
