Strawboys For certain special occasions such as weddings young men and boys wore straw masks. This tradition was very popular in rural Ulster.
A Country Pub There has always been a strong drinking culture in Ireland. Every village had at least one pub like this one and larger towns had many. ...
Marriages This is a sketch of a bride being escorted to her new husband’s home. Most marriages in the countryside were arranged between ...
St. Mary’s Church, Cork St. Mary’s Dominican Church in Cork was designed in 1832, though it took many years to complete. It gives us some indication of the ...
Ribbonmen The Ribbonmen were a secret society which spread through most of Ulster in the mid-19th century. Their gatherings were marked by secret ...
Blessing for Irish Emigrants This 1851 Illustrated London News sketch shows a priest giving his blessing to a group of departing emigrants. Religion was often very ...
Fairy Thorns In rural areas most people believed in fairies. These fairies were rumoured to live around Fairy Thorn trees and farmers never cut them ...
Banshee Rural people were frightened of the Banshee. It was believed to appear before unsuspecting people and cry out. People who experienced ...
Holy Well This photograph, taken in May 1912, captures a scene that was common earlier in the century. It shows Doon Well in Co. Donegal, where ...
A Fine Wake Before the Famine, death was ‘celebrated’ with a wake designed to send the deceased into the next world. This 1841 sketch shows women ...
