School: Naoimh Ióseiph (roll number 15628)
- Location:
- Boyle, Co. Roscommon
- Teachers: Mícheál Ó Mainnín Pádraig Ó Cinnéide
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0235, Page 045
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- XML “Festival Customs”
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- (continued from previous page)with flowing streamers and disguise their faces with blacking. Then, playing flutes and beating on old cans, they go from house seeking money. Now and again they raise their voices in the following wren-song:
The wren; the wren; the King of all birds
On St. Stephen's day he was caught in the furze
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give me my answer and let me be gone
If you treat us to the best we hope in heaven your soul shall rest
But if you treat us to the small that will not please the boys at all
They then buy provisions and have a picnic and sing, eat and make merry,
New Year's Day is the most joyous day in the year and like May Day has many superstitions connected with it. People have a great desire to dream on this night, for it is said that whoever dreams three times of a treasure on this and the two succeeding nights, will have its location revealed to him. People also look forward to the arrival of the first person into their house on that day. If it is a fair-haired man it forbodes good luck for the whole of that year, but if it is a dark-haired man or a woman it forbodes quite the opposite.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Mark Dwyer
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Assylin, Co. Roscommon
- Informant
- Mrs Dwyer
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 62
- Address
- Assylin, Co. Roscommon
