School: Kildavin, Ferns

Location:
Kildavin, Co. Carlow
Teacher:
Tadhg de Brí
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0911, Page 251

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0911, Page 251

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  3. XML “Festivals of the Year - May Day”

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  1. (continued from previous page)
    or butter for if they did they would have none for the rest of the year, they would not give away the seed of their fire either.
    All the young girls got up early on May day morning to wash their faces in the dew for it would give them a good complexion. If you bathed your lips with the dew it was supposed to keep you from getting sick during the year.
    On May day children have a May bush. They get a sceach and decorate it with flowers and eggshells and other things. They made one child the May queen. She was dressed up different to anyone else, with a crown. They all danced round the bush. They got tea. Then they played all sorts of games.
    If anybody got sick in May they say they will surely die. An old saying is, "March will search, April will try and May will tell you whether you live or die.
    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
    Eily Fennelly
    Gender
    Female
    Informant
    Mrs Nolan
    Gender
    Female
    Age
    73
    Occupation
    Shopkeeper
    Address
    Ballyshancarragh, Co. Carlow