School: Bailieboro (Model)
- Location:
- Bailieborough, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: A. Ó Dubhda
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1011, Page 065
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- XML School: Bailieboro (Model)
- XML Page 065
- XML “Festival Customs”
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- On St. Stephen's Day boys and girls dress up in old ragged clothes and goes around the town asking for money.
They do all sorts of mischief. If they asked a person for money and he would not give it to them, they would rush into the house and take anything they could leave their hands on. Some "wren boys" gather together and bring banjos and fiddles and other musical instruments with them and goers round the town playing on the musical instruments and sings this song:
The wren boys, the wren boys
Here we are again,
We wont come back for twelve months,
For twelve months again.
If the wren boys receive a big amount of money they divide equally among themselves and buys drink with it.
In the country the wren boys are worse than they are in the town, they pretend that they are going to take some animal of the farm if the person wouldn't give them any money.(continues on next page)
- Informant
- Mr D. Clarke
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Bailieborough, Co. Cavan
