School: Loughill
- Location:
- Ballymunterhiggin, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Eibhlis Ní Mhathghamhna
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1026, Page 206
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- XML “Bird-Lore - The Magpie”
- XML “Bird-Lore - The Swallow”
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- (continued from previous page)“one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a wedding, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.” Magpies steal young chickens and eat them.
- The swallow comes to Ireland in summer from far off countries such as Asia, India, and Africa. It is a small black and white bird with a long forked tail. When it arrives in the country it goes inland to rest after its long journey. When it flies low it is a sign of rain. It builds its nest of clay and lines it with feathers to make it warm and comfortable. It does not build a new nest each year but repairs the old one. The same swallows come to the same place year after year. Two flocks of birds are hatched each year. The mother bird lays ten or twelve eggs and sometimes more. The eggs are very small. The first flock of birds fly away to foreign(continues on next page)
