In this district certain feasts are held and some old customs are still carried on, Christmas is the greatest feast of the year, and the day after Christmas day is is called Saint Stephen's
Day or "Wren Day". All the boys follow the Wren. They go around from house to house singing the Wren song. They get four-pence in every house. This is the wren song
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds. Saint Stephen's day she was caught in the furze. Although she was little her family was great get up Dear Madam. and give us a treat. As I was going to Killenauk. I met a wren upon the wall, I, up with my stick and knocked her down and brought her home to to Cashel town. This is the wren that you may see hanging on our holly tree, With a bunch of ribbons by her side and the Knockgraffon boys to be her guide. We followed this wren three miles or so, Through hedges and ditches my

The chief festival customs are, on Saint Stephen's Day all the boys go around from house to house hunting the wren. They wear old coloured clothes and masks on their faces. They get a holly bush and kill a wren. They put the wren on the bush and have the wren on their shoulders while they are going around. They sing and dance and play music in all the houses. They sing the wren song. The following is the words of the song.

Since ancient days the old customs of "Hunting the wren" is carried out in nearby every part of Ireland on St. Stephen's day. From early in the morning until dusk it is pleasant to see the wren boys big and small ones some with face masks in them and others having their faces blackened with soot going from house to house with a bramble of a holly tree decorated with coloured papers and ribbons on their shoulders and singing the following rhyme. "The wren the wren the king

The boys in my district go following the wren on St. Stephen's Day. They get a stick of holly and puts a wren on top of it or a few brown feathers. Long ago they used to gather about two pounds. On of the neighbours would give them the house to have a dance. All the people would come to this dance. The boys sing; "The wren the wren the king of the birds On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze[?] Up with the kettle and down with the pans Give us a penny to bury the wren."
St Patrick's Day is on the seventeenth of March and the Irish people all over the world

Following the wren is an old custom still preserved in this district.
The boys of the neighbourhood collected together a few days beforehand and chased the wren over hedges and ditches until they have a few of them captured. They generally kill the wren before they catch. It is considered a great feat to be able to catch the wren and the boy who does so is considered the hero of the crowd.
Then they get a holly bush and decorate it with ribbons of all colours and tie the wren and its nest on the bush. Early on St. Stephen's day each boy blackens his face and changes his clothes. Sometimes they wear men's trousers and women's skirts in order to disguise themselves. Then they go from house to house, one boy carrying the wren bush and the others following. They sing at each house and get money from the people. In the evening then they divide the money between them.

Wren Boys
On St. Stephen's Day every year boys and young men have great fun. They go about as Wren Boys. they dress themselves up in old cloths and put masks on their faces so that no one would know them. They spend the day going about from house to house. They have musical instruments of different kinds and at each house they play music and sing and dance. One of the boys carries a holly bush dressed with coloured ribbons and with a dead wren hanging on it. The boy who carries the bush is called the king of the Wren Boys. When the music and dancing is over the king of the Wren Boys steps forward with the bush and recites some verses such as the following.
I
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds

St Stephen he climbed up a tree in which there was a wren. The soldiers came along and the wren began to flutter. The soldiers looked up in the tree and caught St Stephen. Ever since the wren is hunted on St. Stephens Day.

One of these stories are. Long ago the wren was killed and hung on the bush. There is a rhyme about this.
"The wren the wren the King of all birds. In St Stephen's day he was caught in the furze.
Up the kettle and down the pan give me a penny to bury the wren."

Saint Stephen's Day is on the twenty sixth of December. It is celebrated by going hunting the wren. All the young boys of the district collect together and go around from house to house looking for money. They dress up with old rags and play at every house with musical Instruments. I am going hunting the wren myself with a couple of school companions. Saint Stephen was the first martyr. Saint Stephen's Day is the day after Christmas Day. All the people lock the doors when they hear the Wren boys coming. There is a lot of dances for the Wren boys on Saint Stephen's night. They generally get drunk in the evening. There is Mass on Saint Stephen's Day. Some people say it is not right to eat meat on that day but more people don't believe that. Stephen is a very scarce name.

Of the many ancient festivals held in this district in former times, few remain. The best known of these old festivals was that of St. Stephen's day. In former years a group of boys or young men assembled on that morning. They were usually dressed very queer and most of them had some kind or another instrument, such as an old fiddle, a melodian, a mouth organ, or a "jusarp."
They then went marching from house to house singing or playing. "The wren, the wren, the King of all birds. On St. Stephen's day was caught in the furze. Up with the kettle an down with the pan. A penny or twopence to bury the wren."
One of the party usually carried a bush of holly, and sometimes a dead wren tied out of it. When the day's marching was over, the money collected was divided among the group and they

In this district certain feasts are kept and some old customs are still carried on. Christmas is the greatest feast of the year and the day after is called St Stephens Day or the "Wrens Day". Long ago all the men of the district used to go following the Wren. They used to dress up as fools and clowns. They used to go from house to house looking for gifts and money. They used to go from house with beautiful music and singing the wren song. It is a very old custom. They carry a big holly bush decorated with beautiful coloured ribbons and a dead wren hanging from it. They kill a wren the day before and hang it on the bush. When the day is over they give each man an equal share of the money. Then they hold an outdoor dance and they dance and sing and play music and have a great evening. It is only the schoolboys that go now. They always look forward to the wrens day. They gather ribbons to decorate their wren bush. They sing a special song as follows.
Then wren the wren the king of all birds,
St Stephens day she was caught in the furs.
Although she was little her family was great.
Cheer up kind people and give us a treat

Why The Wren is King of all Birds
Long ago people did not know which bird they would make king, so they gathered all the biggest and all the smallest birds and which ever of them would fly the higest would be king. The eagle was the biggest and the wren was the smallest. The wren hid under the eagles wing and when the eagle was high above all the other birds the wren flew above the eagle and and was higher up than any of the birds. Sohe was called "King of the Birds" ever since.

One day all the birds disputed to know which could go the highest. The eagle said she could so the wren said herself could they tried, just as they were going to rise the wren stole under the eagle's wing. As she was at the highest pitch the wren flew out and said good morning. I am the king of all birds. On account of her tricks she was hunted on Saint Stephen's day.

On the 26th of December it is a old custom to go hunting the wren On Christmas Day they go following the wren along the ditches and in the holly trees. When they are coming home after catching the wren they cut down a small holly tree
Early on the next morning they tie ribbons on the bush and tie the wren on top. They go from house to house singing songs and danceing. The people in the house throw out a few pence.
In other towns they have different customs. From three to four boy's go hunting the wren One of them in the [?]. Then when all is over they go into one of the boy's houses and the divide the money between them More of them have a party that night They play melodeons and violins and mouth-organs

Boys go around with the wren on St. Stephen's Day. They go around to collect money. This custom is there for a long time.

In every district in Ireland boys go hunting the wren on Saint Stephen's Day. They all carry some musical instrument. They play and sing and dance. They have one special rhyme which they say at every door;-
The wren, the wren the king of all birds,
On Saint Stephens Day she's hid in the furze.
So up with the kettle and down with the pan[?]
Give us some money to bury the wren.
The wren boys dress up in girl's clothes, all torn and worn. They wear masks or "eye fiddles" on their faces, so that nobody will know who they are. Some boys carry a wren on a holly bush and as they go along they sing
We knocked her down and she couldn't see,
and we brought her home on a holly tree
The wren boys' collect the money and on Saint Stephen's night they have a danse in some barn. All those who gave them money during the day are invited.
On Saint Patrick's day we wear the

up and said "Why should we be cowards when the thrush is not afraid and so after that they never hated the thrush. This is why the thrush is called "The Storm Thrush".
The wren is a very small bird about four inches in length. It haunts the heather ferns and gardens and feed on insects and spiders. It builds a snug round nest of grass, moss, dead leaves, feathers and hair generally placed in a hole in a wall or in a hedge. It lays about six or seven eggs and hatches in May. Its song is a clear loud thrilling one and it sings throughout the year in all weathers. It is the smallest bird of them all and is called "King of the Birds" as one day when the birds were competing to see which of them would be King, the wren got under the eagles wing. When the flew a certain distance the birds got tired and the eagle flew the highest. "I am King of the birds" he said, but the wren flew our from under the eagles wing and shouted "I am King of the birds". On St Stephen's Day the wren-boys hunt the wren and sing:

It is a usual custom in Ireland to follow the wren on St. Stephen's Day. This custom has continued for centuries in Ireland. In former times even men and women looked forward to that day a lot but now they are not interested.
A group of boys and girls used to go seeking for a wren and hollybushes. They would then go home and decorate their bushes with ribbons or coloured strings in readiness for the following day. Some of them killed the wren and tied her on the holly bush, but nowadays this is not done.
They then went round from door to door singing -
The wren, the wren the king of all birds.
St. Stephen's day was caught in the furze,

ST. Stephen's Day falls on the day after Christmas Day. All the young boys follow the wren because the wren was the cause of St. Stephen being put to death. When the soldiers were following St Stephen he climbed up a tree. When the soldiers came along they sat down at the butt of the tree where St. Stephen was hiding. They heard the wren fluttering in the tree and they looked up they saw St Stephen in the tree. They seized him and had him put to death. Ever since the yound boys always hunt the wren.
Hallow'een falls on the night before November Day. The day before the woman of the house always makes a sweet cake and she puts a ring a silver coin a match a grain of coin in it. When the supper comes all the people of the house sit around the table and each one cuts a slice off the cake and the person who finds the ring is the

St. Stephen's Day:- also called the Wren's Day. Young boys mostly of school going age, dress up in old clothes, and put masks on their faces. They travel round from house to house, sometimes carrying the Wren with them on top a thorny bush. They play music on fiddles melodeons, and any-one who can step-dance does so, or sometimes, the Quadrilles or "Sets" are danced. The people give them some money, sometimes silver, but as a rule pennies are more generally given.
The young people collect a lot of money, & spend it on a party or dance that night or the next night.
In some parts this has become a money making business, so that in order to prevent corruption of any kind, the "Wren Boys" have to apply to the Garda for a Permit to go round with the "Wren"