School: Coill Mhór (roll number 16780)
- Location:
- Cuilmore, Co. Mayo
- Teacher: Liam Ua Claidhimh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0123, Page 73
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- Death, Wakes, Funerals, etc.
Signs of Death
(1) If a bat flies into a house where a person is sick or ailing, that person will die before long. It's the same if a big butterfly comes in.
(2) A person nearly always gets some token of death. Often a light footstep is heard coming to the door.
(3) The bean-nighe is a sure sign of death, but the bean-nighe is only heard with some families. The Dunnes is one family that she's always with. She cries and wails a night before the person dies. She is believed to be some relation of the person who is about to die.
(4) Long ago the people said they used always see lines of lights on the forts the night before a person died in the townland.
(5) A big flock of crows over a place is supposed to be the sign of funeral.
(6) Often a wisp of straw is seen slinging on to a hens tail. This wish is said to be a sign of death or of a funeral.
(7) If a funeral is gapped it's a sign that another funeral will soon follow it.(continues on next page)
- Informant
- Mrs Ann Doohan
- Relation
- Unknown
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 62
- Address
- Cloonaghboy, Co. Mayo
