St. Brigid’s Day St. Brigid’s Day (1 February) was another important festival. It was half way through winter and half the stock of food and fuel was ...
Fair Day Fairs became increasingly popular in 19th century Ulster as farming became a more commercial activity. They were held on important dates ...
Luck Penny At markets and fairs it was the custom to ask for a Luck Penny when buying an animal. It was believed that refusal would bring bad luck ...
May Queens All over Ireland May Day remained an important festival. This photograph of young girls in Co. Westmeath was taken around 1910. They ...
Christmas Turkey The photograph shows the scene outside a butcher’s shop just two days before Christmas. There are two turkeys hanging to the left of ...
Wake This canopy bed was made in the late 19th century and found in a house in Co. Wexford. The bed was used by the owner’s mother and when ...
Sowing Seed In rural Ulster there was a tradition followed by farmers sowing corn. The seed was loaded onto a cart drawn by a horse, but the farmer ...
Examples of Religious Sites other than Tombs Most of the henges are associated with the Bronze Age period but there are some early Neolithic examples.
These are mainly in the east ...
Rebellion Radical Irish nationalists led by the United Irishmen had been influenced by events in Revolutionary France and they staged a rebellion ...
A rural funeral The families of the strong farmers ensured that they were given a ‘good funeral’ when the time came. All the neighbours would follow ...
