School: Glentidaly (roll number 9983)

Location:
Glentidaly, Co. Donegal
Teacher:
M. M. Heron
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1087, Page 232

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1087, Page 232

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  3. XML “Festival Customs - May Day”

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  1. May Day, or as it is more commonly called May Eve, is a very superstitious event. Long ago it was a great day for blinking and some people used to take away milk from other people's cows by going out and sweeping the dew with a hare tether and saying some sort of rhyme which went thus.
    "A' the milk and butter to me,
    A' the milk and butter to me."
    The witches used to turn themselves into hares and suck cows so as to take the milk from them. It is said that only a black dog without a white hare in his body could catch them.
    There was once a man who had a dog of this kind. One day the man took the dog out to hunt. When they had gone some distance he espied a silver hare. The dog at once began to chase it. At this moment a boy came running after them, calling tot he hare "Run Grandmother, run, there is a black dog after you."
    There is a story told about a woman at Mullaheep
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)
        1. May (~639)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Margery Malseed
    Gender
    Female
    Address
    Clooney, Co. Donegal
    Informant
    Mrs Mc Bride
    Gender
    Female
    Address
    Roughan, Co. Donegal