School: Enfield (roll number 8194)

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   “On St Stephen's day a crowd of men and boys gather together.”

   

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   Mary McCormack (14) Newcastle. Told by James Shiels (42) Enfield.

   On St. Stephens day a crowd of men and boys gather together. They are dressed in old comic clothes, old fashioned hats and breeches with odd legs and sometimes they polish their faces with black polish. They all differ in costume. They go round from place to place carrying a decorated bush which very often contains a dead wren dangling from the branches. In later years they do not bother killing the unfortunate bird but proceed without it. They carry musical instruments ranging from a mouth-organ to an accordion. A man or boy plays the music and the rest look for partners in the farmer's house and they dance go leor round the farmer's kitchen. They divide the money which they get between themselves. Some of them travel on bicycles. Those wren boys sing the wren song which goes as follows:-

   The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, On St. Stephens day he was caught in

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)
         1. Feast of St Stephen (~402)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Mc Cormack

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   14

   Address

   Newcastle, Co. Meath

   Informant

   James Shiels

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   42

   Address

   Innfield, Co. Meath