The wren, the wren,t he king of all birds." On Saint Stephen;s Day was caught in a fir. There is a story connected with the wren and the eagle. They wanted to see which of them could fly the higher. So the eagle started off and the wren hopped up on the eagle's back. Whent hey went as high as they could the eagle got tired and fell down, but the wren flew higher. So the wren won the flight and was called "the King of the Birds."

Some of the boys have music and the rest of the boys dance. They sat a rime and when they go it to the house." The wren, the wren the king of all birds. St Stephens day was caught in the firs. Up with the kettle and down with the pan. Give me some money to bury the wren. When the have all gathered they divided it between them.
The following is another song that is sung by the wren boys
The wren the wren the king of all birds St Stephen's day was caught in the firs Although he is little his family is great I pray you good lady give us a treat. My boy would speak if it had but a tongue and a penny or two would do it no wrong and if you haven't a penny a halfpenny will do and if you haven't a halfpenny God bless you.

On St Stephens Day the Wren boys go about from house to house, and sing the wren song of which the following are the words "The wren the wren the king of all birds. On St Stephens day she was caught in the firs. Although she's small her family's great Rise up kind gentry and give us a treat Up with the kettle and down with the pan and give us some money to bury the wren." Money is contributed to them then and they share it equally among them. Long ago with the money they received they went to some special house and held a dance in it that night.
Shrove is the time between Lent and Advent. Wedding celebrations are usually carried out during this time, because they say it is th eluckiest time of the year to get married. On Shrove Tuesday night which is also called pancake night people have pancakes for their tea.
The people make a great effort to plant some of their crops on Good Friday, because as the old saying goes anything

On St Stepthens day every little boy goes out gathering money to bury the wren. They get up early so that they have all the money gathered before the rest of the boys go out.
They get false faces and put them on their faces. Then they get a stick and make a wren and put her up on the top of it Then they go in to the house and they show the wren and say "Give me some money to bury the wren".

Of the many old Christmas customs of olden days the Wren Boys is one.
Even up till to-day this custom is carried on in the Carrowreagh district. A group of boys who disguise themselves by false faces old clothes turned inside out and tall hats with feathers in them go as Wren Boys. They also have a musical instrument a fiddle or a flute with them. They also carry a stick with them in case they would meet a cross dog or any other cross beast. When they come to a house the begin dancing outside. Then they come in and there is one that does the playing and the others dance. When they have finished they ask the house-wife for some money to bury the wren. The(y) generally get a few coppers in every house. When they get them they go away singing a rhyme called. The Wren the Wren the King of all Birds.
They travel miles and when nightfall comes they divide the money they have collected among themselves,

The wren is a very small brown bird. It builds its nest in house-eaves and very often in hedges. It lays a brown spotted egg. At Christmas the wren is killed for the wren boys who tie him on a stick to make money. They dance in the houses every place they go to. They dress themselves with funny old looking shirts and cover their heads with rags. They dress the tree with holly and the little wren is left in the middle. They sing as they go about.

The grown-up men and boys go from house to house singing and dancing and playing music to represent the burying of the wren because the old people used to say that the wren spied on our Lord. Nearly all of the people give the wren-boys money for that reason. The names of the boys that go out burying the wren are Hubert O'Connor, Micky Mc Avoy, Thomas Carr, Paddy McGetttrick all from Portinch. The names of the big boys are Frank Gorman, Frank Gray, Thomas Cawley, Jonny Wims, Willie Mulligan, and a lot of others. It is very seldom girls go out but they have been known to go out in other places. They put false faces on them in order that wouldn't be known and old torn clothes on their bodies

Summer the birds begin to build their nests. The swallows build their nests on the eaves of houses and in holes of the wall of a hayshed or barn. The crows build their nests high up on tall trees where they are out of all harm. The wren usually builds her nest in a briar bush and in hedges. Out of moss, the wren builds her nest. She makes it in the middle of a bush where it is hard to get at. The nest is of a round shape and there is a small round hole to serve for the entrance. It is lined inside with feathers and is very cosy. The wren lays fourteen or fifteen eggs. They are of a brown shade nearly like a brown hen-egg and they are very small.

The birds that are to be found mostly around this district are : - the wren, sparrow, robin, goldfinch, bullfinch, chaffinch, blue bunty, swallow, stare, thrush, blackbird, cuckoo, magpie, rook, and the jackdaw.

On St. Stephen's Day boys gather and disguise themselves with queer sort of clothes. One of the boys play on some musical instrument while the other boys dance. They carry with them a wren in a cage. When they have finished dancing they say :-
"The wren, the wren
King of all the birds
On St. Stephen's Day
He was caught in the furze.
Up with the kettle
And down with the pan
Give us a penny to bury the wren"
This song is called the wren song . The boys ask at every house for money to bury the wren.

On Boxing Day night the boys around our place sometimes go out in the "Wren Boys".
The "Wren Boys" from Sligo town, 3 miles away come round too. They never have a wren now, but they used to long ago. They wear false faces and dress themselves up in old clothes so that nobody will know them. They had branches of trees with paper streamers hanging from them. They sometimes have a melodian and sometimes just a mouth organ. They say this rhyme at every house:-

The "Wren" Boys
The "Wren" boys are boys who dress in funny clothes and go around from house to house on Saint Stephen's day. They carry a wren with them. When they enter each house they say the following rhyme -
"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
On Saint Stephen's day she was caught in the furze
Up with the kettle and down with then pan
Give me a penny to bury the wren".
They carry a musical instrument with them. When they go into a house one plays the music and the others dance. They get a few pence in every house. In the evening they divide the money between them and they buy sweets for it.
Collected and written by Annie M. Kilcullen, Killeenduff, Easkey.
Told by her mother - Mrs J Kilcullen, Killeenduff, Easkey

1. St Stephens' Day. One of the customs carried out at present in the district is the gathering of boys to go around with the wren. They dress in old clothes, and put on false faces and bring a little tree with them. In the tree the wren is supposed to be, but that custom has failed-of bringing the wren.

In times gone by for days previous to the coming of St. Stephen's Day, the young folk of the neighbourhood would be seen beating the furze in pursuit of the wren. When the poor little victim was captured he was hung to the end of a stick, on St. Stephen's Day. Fortunately this practice has fallen into disuse and although the wren boys still make an appearance on the Anniversary of St. Stephen's Day the wren is no longer a victim of an otherwise harmless and amusing custom.

king, and they said, who ever would go up the highest in the air. The wren hid himself in the sea-gull's wings and when the bird got tired the wren flew out of the wing and when he flew so high, he was crowned king of the birds.

1. Large candles are lighted in all windows on Christmas Night - to give light to wanderers - in memory of the Holy Family seeking lodging on the first Christmas Night.

sign of good weather.
When St. Joseph and Jesus and Our Lady were fleeing to Egyp from the anger of King Herod there was were a robin and a wren in the field. St. Joseph's feet were all blood from travelling over stubb;e-fields. When the Jews came along and asked the robin did anyone pass it said "no" and at the same time it was trying to cover the strains of blood. They asked the wren and he said "Yes" "They did". That is how the robin got his red breast and he is called robin red-breast ever since and the wren is despised.

1. St Stephens' Day. It is the custom to go round the country from house to house gathering money for the wren. The young boys dress up in old clothes and put on false faces and call out "Give me a penny to bury the wren." They used to carry a wren with them, but they are not keeping up the custom. They always have a musical instrument with them. They play tune and dance and sing songs.

The Irish people practice many customs on certain feasts.
On ST. Stephen’s day a crowd of boys gather together or sometimes men dress themselves with old rags and old hats. They also get a false face and put it on their faces. They dress in this manner so that they will not be recognised.
Then they get some musical instruments such as a mouth organ or a violin. Then they go about from house to house playing music and dancing and singing songs about the wren. This is the one they usually sing.
The wren, the wren, the king of the birds brought on ST Stephen’s day in the forge up with the kettle and down with the pan.
Give us some money to bury the wren.
They also sing other songs much like the former. They follow on in this manner until evening comes. Then they divide the money equally among them. The adults spent this money on drink while the children spend it some other way.
On the 31st of January a number

St. Stephen's Day.
In this locality it is the custom not to eat meat on that day, so that all kinds of disease may be kept away during the following year. On this day also men, and of late years, boys go in groups from house to house collecting money. These are called "Wren Boys". They dress in coloured clothes and straw. Sometimes they blacken their faces or wear masks or "false-faces." They usually have music, and they dance and sing before each door. This is the Wren song in this district - :
"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's day was caught in the furze,
Although she is small her family is great,
Rise up landlady, and give us a treat.
And if your treat is of the small,
It won't agree with the boys atal.
But if your treat is of the best,
We hope, in heaven your soul may rest.
So up with the kettle, and down with the pan,
Give us your answer and let us 'began'."
One of the 'Wren Boys' is official collector. He has a box, with a slit in the lid. Everyone gives what they can afford, and it is said that bad luck follows those who refuse.