School: Loch Coiteáin (roll number 10049)

Location:
Dromickbane, Co. Kerry
Teacher:
Eibhlín, Bean Uí Shúilleabháin
Browse
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0454, Page 339

Archival Reference

The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0454, Page 339

Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.

See copyright details.

Download

Open data

Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

  1. XML School: Loch Coiteáin
  2. XML Page 339
  3. XML “Drags Forty Years Ago”

Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.

On this page

  1. After a time, when horses, as a mode of conveyance, were discontinued, the common carts came into use, and they conveyed the people to the weddings. Later on, the side-car was adopted. A string of these in a wedding was commonly called a drag. People of good standing in the country always aimed at having a large drag. A body of horsemen always preceded the drag. When the party was returning from the church, bonfires were lit on the road-side and in prominent places before them. It was a general custom too, to tie ropes from side to side of the road before them, This was an accepted fact, for they were presented with a bottle of whiskey before the ropes were cut.
    There used to be great rivalry among the drivers, trying to take precedence of each other, and they often came to grief in their efforts to do so. There was hardly ever a drag in which a horse did not shy and take head. The women used to be afraid of their lives and not without cause.
    After the great war, when food stuffs and beverages soared in price, weddings decreased,
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. social activities (~7)
        1. rites of passage (~573)
    Language
    English