Festival Customs
In most districts many feasts are followed in some special way as they occur each year. On St Stephen's Day, boys and in some places grown up men, gather together, in small bands and go around from house to house, singing the wren song, they have a decorated bush, with a wren on it, and sometimes they only have an imitation of a wren on it. The song sung is:-
"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds. St Stephen's Day, she was caught in the furze

St Stephens Day is the day following Christmas Day. A lot of boys dress a little bush with coloured papers on that day and dress themselves up with old clothes. It is customary to have the feast of Saint Stephen each year. On that day also the people have a goose or turkey for their dinner. The boys come to every house and say a rhyme about the wren.
When they have the rhyme finished the people give them money. The people have a lot of different traditions about the wren. The following story is told as how the wren became the King of the Birds. The birds started to fly up and the wren hid under an Eagles wing.
The Eagle flew up the highest as the other birds

out in three weeks. She is a wonderful mother and rears this large family carefully and in a short time has them ready to leave the nest and to go fend for themselves. The young men and boys go around the hedges and fields hunting the wren on Christmas Day. When one is caught, she is carefully placed in a small wooden box or cage.
This wooden box or cage is tastefully decorated with holly, ivy, coloured ribbons and paper and carried around by a group of boys and young men on St. Stephen's Day. These men or boys are called "the wren boys"; they array themselves in fantastic clothes and darken their faces with soot or bootpolish, or sometimes they wear vizards to disguise themselves. They travell around from door to door and at each door they recite a rhyme something like the following:
The wren, the wren, the king

At Christmas the festival customs are a very big Christmas candle is lighted and left lighting all day. The house is decorated and cleaned. Children hang up their stockings on Christmas Eve night for Father Christmas to bring presents to them.
On St Stephen's day boys go round from house to house saying the wren song and collecting money. The words of the wren song are.
"The wren the wren the king of all birds St.

Although she was little, her family was great
Rise up young lady, and give us a treat
Give me a bit of your Xmas pie
Give me a drop of your ginger beer
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us some money to bury the wren
My boots are worn and my clothes are torn
Following the wren the day before
I hoist her up and I hoist her down
And I hoist her into Charlestown
I dipped her head in a barrel of beer,
And I wish you all a happy New Year.
Sroy told about the wren.
The Jews were trying to capture St. Stephen. He hid in a yew tree. The wren was on top of this tree and as the Jews were passing by the little wren chirruped. This made the soldiers loou up, when they noticed St Stephen in his hiding place. He was immediately captured. Ever afterwards, the wren was carried around on St Stephens Day as a sort of punishment So the story goes.

On St Stephens day some boys dress up

The Blackbird
The blackbird builds her nest in a nice bush surrounded by a lot thorns so that no one would get at her nest. She lays five blue eggs and she hatches them for three.

On St Stephen's day the boys and men sometimes go around carrying the wren from house to house singing and getting money. There are many stories which are sung on that day. One of them is
"The wren the wren the king of all birds
On St Stephen's day he was caught in the furze

When you are putting up the holly and ivy on Christmas Eve night, if you put plenty of it around any holy picture you will have luck all the year round.

Festival Customs.
St Stephens Day:
In this district boys go around in groups of 4,5 and numbers of up to 12 collecting money from house to house. They carry afirze bush, which is usulaly decorated with coloured ribbons,toys, coloured papers and sometimes picture post-cards. They also have a cage and a wren. They usulaly stay up late previous night to catch a wren in thatch of houses. Some members of the group wear false faces and carry different musical instruments. One person carries the cage, a second carries the firze bush and a thrid collects the money in a little money box. At the end of the day this money is divided equally among the group. In this disctrict, the custome is to hand a stone to house-holders for good luck. Then they have various rhymes to recite or if there is a good dancer among the crowd he is called upon to step itout. The following rhyme is recited by all together:-
The wren, the wren, King of all birds,
St. Stephen's day was cought in the firze

The wren, the wren the king of all birds
St. Stephen's day she was caught in the furze
Although she was little her family was great
So rise up landlady and give us a treat
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
A penny or twopence will bury this wren
This little wren she had but ten
And reared them up into great big men
We followed this wren five miles or more
Through ditches and hedges my breeches got tore
From bush to bush, from tree to tree
At the hill of Caragh we broke her knee
We dipped her head in a barrel of beer
I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

This is a rhyme which the boys sing on St Stephens Day when they are going round with the wren.
"The wren, the wren the king of all birds
On St. Stephen's day she was caught in the firs.
Although she is little
her family is great
Rise up (kind) landlady
and give us a treat
My old coat is "tore" and my feet are sore
From following the wren
the day before
Up with the kettle and ...

"Festival Customs"
In our district many feasts are observed in a special manner, such as on St. Stephen's Day when boys dress up and go from house to house carrying decorated bushes and collecting money "to bury the wren". They sing the wren's song. The actual words of this song are.
The Wren the Wren the king of all birds,
St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,
Although she was small her family was great,
Rise up my lady and give us a treat,
All silver no brass, give us the price of a half a glass,

Festival Customs
On St Stephens Day boys and men go in procession from house to house with decorated bushes gathering money. and singing the Wren song. The Wren - song is -
The Wren, the Wren,
The King of all birds,
On St. Stephens Day,
She was caught in the furze,
Up with the kettle,
Down with the pan,
Give me a penny,
To bury the Wren.
Although she was little,
Her family was great,
Get up old Woman,
And give us a treat.

1. The wren day is one of the old customs which is carried on in mosts parts of of Ireland. It is held on St Stephem day.
2. On Christmas afternoon a group of boys go out hunting the wren. They then get a bush, generally a furze, and decorate it with lots of coloured papers, and put a nest in it for the wren. Some of the boys dress in old clothes.
3. Early on St Stephen's morning a big group of boys start's off. They go from house to house singing the rhyme. At each house they get a penny or twopence. About four o'clock they start for home. When they get near home they divide the money.
4. This custom was carried on from the olden times, and it is a pity it is dying out.

Stories of birds
Why the robin has a red breast
There are many stories told about why the robin has a red breast. Here is one I heard some time ago.
One day Our Lord was crossing a field and there were some soldiers hunting him. They were passing by the field in which Our Lord was, when a wren flew out of a hedge. The wren drew their attention to some drops of blood on the ground which had fallen from wounds in Our Lords feet. The soldiers then set out to follow the drops of blood.
A robin had been listening to what the wren was saying, and it also set out to follow the drops of blood. It started to wipe up the blood

Festival Customs
In this locality Feasts are observed in different manners as they occur each year.

thought, but when the Eagle was bet the wren came out from under his wing and flew up higher than the Eagle and ever after he was called the King of birds.

the people do not throw out water because the Holy Souls visit their old homes on that night. People clean out the fire-place, leaving a candle lighting and cake on the table they go to bed.
Another reason for the Irish chasing the wren is the Irish were ready to attack the English in a battle. The English were asleep. The wren seeing this so awoke the English leader and they beat the Irish

decorated with coloured paper and bring it round with them. they go from house to house saying a rhyme. This is one I head.
The wren the wren, the King of all birds
St. Stephen's day was caught in the furze
Although she was little her honour was great
Rise up landlady and give us a treat
Up with the kettle and diwn with the an
A penny or twopence to bury the wren.
When taking down the holly do not leave even one leaf. Because it is