School: Clún na Gaoithe (roll number 8740)

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1. May Day Customs

   

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   It is the custom for children to pick May flowers or Marsh marigolds on the last evening in April. These they throw on the doorstep or on the windowsill.
   On this day the old people would not give any milk to a neighbour because they believe they would not have a supply of milk for the rest of the year. This is another custom the old people of my district practise. If they are washing a vessel in which there was milk in a stream they never let rinsing go with the stream. They throw it in some other direction because they believe that if they do not do so they would not have enough milk to do them for the rest of the year. The pople also tie a piece of red cloth on each cows' tail. This they tie on in the morning before letting them out. They do this to prevent the fairies from taking the cow's milk. Sometimes they tie a horse-shoe-nail or "táirgne crúth" in the cow's tails
   On May day morning they look strong and healthy but when bringing them home they look sick and has not much milk. They then know that the fairies did something to the cows. They call this "elf-shot".
   This is the remedy the have for the "elf-shot" -
   First they got some water from the hollow of a rock and put it into a jug. Into this they put

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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)
         1. May (~639)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Mrs Nora Maloney

   Relation

   Unknown

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Foxford, Co. Mayo