School: Bennekerry, Carlow

Location:
Bennekerry, Co. Carlow
Teacher:
Liam Ó hAodha
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0907, Page 422

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0907, Page 422

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  1. XML School: Bennekerry, Carlow
  2. XML Page 422
  3. XML “Festival Customs”
  4. XML “Festival Customs”

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  1. (continued from previous page)
    bush, another collects the money, and the rest sing. The song is:
    "The wren, the wren, the King of all birds,
    St. Stephen's Day, she was caught in the firs
    Although she is little, her family is great.
    Rise up, landlady and give us a treat"
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
  2. There are several festival days during the year. St. Stephen's Day is one of those days. Hunting the wren is the custom on this day. As a rule, the wren boys dress in all sorts of queet costumes and provide a toy bird to represent the wren. They visit each house in the district, make a collection to bury the wren. They usually sing a few lines of an old song
    The wren, the wren the king of all birds
    St. Stephen's Day was caught in the firs,
    Up with the kettle, down with the pan,
    Give me a penny to bury the wren"
    Sometimes a lot of young fellows have a car, and take fiddles and melodeons and travel a long distance. They sing and dance at gentlemen's houses and gather
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    James Mc Guill
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Bennekerry, Co. Carlow