School: Clonlara
- Location:
- Cloonlara, Co. Clare
- Teacher: Dll. Ó Heoghanáin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0585, Page 108
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- XML “May”
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- May is the eerie month. May Eve it is the custom for the head of the house to take a bottle of Easter Water and shake it on the crops and cattle and into the rooms of the house. It was a great practise long ago for to put twigs of quick bean on the door to keep off the evil spirits and they also put them in the gardens for fear their crops would be taken.
Some people used never go to bed on May Eve only watching their cows for fear they would be milked, their gardens for fear there would be eggs or meat planted in them as they would take their crops and those that put the eggs in the neighbours garden, would have the double crop and the burying of meat in the neighbours garden would take the illluck off their cattle and the neighbours cattle would die.
A spring well where two or three neighbours would be drawing water from it, used be a great race as to who would have the first bucket full out of the well on May morn.
It is not lucky to sit on grass May day. The girls long ago used be up early on May(continues on next page)
