They buy a half tierce with the wren money and hold a wren dance.

time he would meet the priest he would shoot him. So there were stations and the priest had to walk on foot in those times. So he said he would shoot the priest when he met him. So he took away his servant and his gun to shoot the priest. The people told the priest that Wren was going to shoot him. Wren was walking hither and over the path [?] to shoot him when he would be going b coming back. So the priest passed Wren because Wren [?] never saw him. So his servant asked him who so didn't he shoot the priest. He told wren that the priest passed him and why didn't he shoot him. He said he would if he saw him. "There he's gone" said the servant. Wren went after him to shoot him on his horse before he reached Ballylongford. There was a man of the Gorms and he was married to Wren's sister. So the priest told him that Wren was following him. The [?] Major said that he would stand for the

St. Stephen's Day:- On this day parties of little boys wearing face-masks go from house to house collecting money for the "wren". One boy in each party takes a dead wren about, on a holly branch. On entering a house he says:- "Something for the wren, the wren, the king of all birds, on St. Stephen's Day he was caught in the furze". As a rule each householder gives him two or three pence. The members of each party divide the money collected between them.

one another, the boy and the girl will marry. St. Stephen's day people go from house to house gathering money. They carry a dead wren on a holly bush, and they have a song about the wren, which goes like this. "The wren, the wren, the king of all birds; St. Stephen's day she was caught in the furze. Up with kettle, down with pan, and give us a shilling to bury the wren!" St. Patrick's day falls on the 17th of March but only in Ireland. We wear badges on that

If they jump away from one another they would not be ever married. St. Stephen's day the people go from house to house gathering money.
They carry a dead wren on a holly bush and they have a song about the wren. It goes like this: "The wren, the wren, the king of all birds. St. Stephen's day she was caught in the furze. Up with the kettle, down with the pan; And give us a shilling to bury the wren".

There was a wren there long ago he went out one frosty morning in a tillage field. He found a worm stuck in the earth. He caught the worm and shook it. He could not pull it. It was stuck in the frost. When he could not pull the worm he went looking for help to pull the worm. He got another wren and the two of them were pulling and they could not pull the worm. He went for the third wren to pull the worm. He got the third wren and the three of them were pulling and they could not knock a stir out of him. He went looking for the fourth wren to pull the worm. The four of them could not pull it. He went looking for more help. He was sending for help until he had twelve wrens. The twelve of them were jaded out. They did not

Saint Stephen's day folks on the day after Christmas Day. The young boys catch a wren and they kill him. Then they tie the wren to a branch of holly, and they tie two different flowers on each side of him.
They go around from house to house gathering money for the wren. When they enter a house they say, "The wren the wren the king of all birds on Saint Stephen's day he was caught in the furs, although he is small his family's great get up landlady and give us the treat. If the treat is small it will not agree with the boys at all, and if the treat be of the best I hope in

St. Stephen's Day is a great festival in this district it falls on the 26th of December. On St. Stephens day boys and grown up people go around from house to house gathering money for to bury the wren and they take holly in their hands with a wren up on it and some coloured paper.
Most of them take melodeons and mouthorgans and other instruments and others sing songs such as the "wren song". The wren song is, -
"The wren the wren, the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's day he was caught in the furze.
We chased him up and we chased him down,
We hit him a stroke and knocked him down.
Up with the kettle and down with the pan.
Give us a penny to bury the wren.
If there is three or four people going around together, they divide the money out, and then they buy whatever they like after that. Some men and boys take bicycles if they were going to travel a long journey, and they put false faces on them for that day, and old clothes, and Some of them blacken all their faces so that the people would not know who they were.
St. Stephen's Day falls on a different day every year it fell on a Sunday this year. There are supposed to be two days for the wren.

St Stephen's day falls on the day after Xmas Day. It is called "The Wren's Day" because young boys and girls travel round the countryside going from door to door gathering money "to bury the Wren" which they killed the evening previous. Even this old custom is carried out to the present day. The young people dress up in a comical way. They get a branch of holly and tie a wren to it. They gather in crowds, perhaps five or six people together, most of them having musical instruments e.g. mouth organs, flutes, melodeons, etc. When they arrive at a house, they start playing music, and sing songs - about the wren (not done at present).

priest and fight for him, Gorm saved the priest and Wren had to return home. The priest said that Letter House would go without a Wren and so it did and mass is said there now. It took Wren a week to die and his tongue was outside his mouth.

down.
On St Stephen's Day all the boys of the place go in the wren. Most crowds take a wren with them but others only take an imitation of a wren. They travel far away and go into every house. They all dress very nicely, others with their faces painted. They take with them a man who is able to play to a fiddle or an accordion, also a drummer and a dancer. When they go into a house the man plays and the dancer dances and they get money from the owner of the house. It is the cashier who takes the money. When the wren is all over the men count their money and on the following day they go to town to buy as much porter and wine as they can afford. Then they have the wren dance in some neighbour's house nearby

the wren will be finished up until next twelve months again with the help of God.

In most districts many feasts are observed in a special manner as they occur each year. On St. Stephen's day men and boys gather together in groups and go from house to house gathering money to bury the wren. They are called wren boys because they carry a wren on a holly bush. They wear masks

places grown up men gather together and go in procession from house to house, with bushes of holly, singing the wren song. they gather money "to bury the wren". They are called the wren boys. They sing and dance in each house. On St Patrick's day the people wear shamrock. On chalk boys and girls who are not already married get a rub of chalk on the back. On the eve of St John's

"Rhymes for the Wren."
The wren the wren the King of all birds.
St. Stephen's day he was caught in the furze.
Up with the kettle, and down with the pan.
A penny or two to bury the wren.

A local happening
There was once in the townland of Litter a protestant family named Wrenn. The townland is about four miles from this place. This protestant family disliked priests very much. One time however there was a local station in Wren's townland and he said that on the [morning] of the station he would shoot the priest. Wren's servant heard him say this and he went and [told] the priest. The priest was not in the least bit af[raid] and on the morning of the station he wentand rode right round Wrenn's house. Wrenn could not see the priest thought he was watching for him to shoot him and still the servant could see him very well. After riding around Wrenn's house the priest went away to the station. After the station Wren pursued the priest and as it should happen Wren went into the house of another protestant who refused to pursue the priest with him. The priest got home alright and he said that from that time on Wren would have no luck. The priest was right and since that time Wren's followers are very unlucky. Since that time the Wrens have been evicted and people have taken goods out of their for their own [use].
Dan Daly
Bromore, Ballybunion
17-6-'38
I got this story from Edmund Costello who lives in Lensechane. [He] got it from this father-in-law and his father-in-law got it from [his] grandfather who lived in Litter at the time.

This is a very nice story about robinredbreast. When our Lord died on the cross for us all the birds saw him and they were very sad. Robinredbreast flew to where Our Lord was. There were big thorns on his head and his bead was bleeding. The robing tried to pull one of the thorns and some of the blood went on her breast. All robins have red breasts from that day. There s also a story of the wren connected with Our Lord. It is said that when our Lord's enemies were searching for his through the fields the wren told them where he was and so all the people try to kill the wren on St. Stephen's Day because he betrayed Our Lord.

This day is also called the Day of the Wran (wren). Boys (up to the age of thirteen or fourteen) kill a wren. Tie him on a bit of stick, and decorate him with holly and laurel. They then go around from house to house collecting money. Sometimes he repeat this verse
The wren, the wren the king of all birds
On St Stephen's day he was caught in the furze.
Up with the kettle, and down with the pan.
A penny or two to bury the wren.
(N.B. wren is pronounced "wran"

On Saint Steohen's day boys from 18 to 25 years of age as a rule disguise themselves and go "In the Wren". They each carry a branch of holly and on the Captain's branch there is fastened with a piece of string a dead wren.
Like the Biddy Boys they dance, sing, or recite in every house, but instead of asking for something for the Biddy, they hold up the branch on which the wren is fastened, and ask for something to bury the wren.
If their post is slow to procure the donation one of them recites "The wren the wren the king of all birds
Saint Stephens Day he was caught in the furze.
Although he is little his family is great
Get up long daddy and give us a treat.
II

One day a number of boys, gathered together, and they decided to go gathering money for the wren. The night before they killed a wren.
In the morning they started off, and they went from house to house gathering. They decided to divide the money when they had it gathered.
When they had the money gathered, it was almost night. They then started for home. At a certain place they began to divide the money. When it was decided, one of the boys was not satisfied with the money he got, and he was very angry. Then, they departed, and went home.
Some time after some of the boys met each other. One of the boys said he was not satisfied with the money he got the day they went gathering money for the wren. The other boys said they would not give him any more money. He said that he would never again go gathering money for the wren, because the Wren does not get a penny of it, by right the priests should get the money.