Traditional Lore, Cures, Sayings and Curses

daviddonnelly

Can anyone provide me with old sayings and folklore e.g. weatherlore (red sky at night etc.....) Cures (nail a snail to a tree to cure warts etc..). In one saying I know of like n'er cast a clout til May is out, I always presumed May to be the month of May when in fact it refers to the May Blossom. If anyone has any others I would love to hear them.;)

danniemcq

Kinda related, there is a wishing and a cursing stone on Tory Island.

The wishing stone is at the top of Tor Mor and you eitehr stand on it and do 3 turns (not safe at all!!! you are about 300ft up and nothing below you but a stoney shore. There is a safer way though by throwing 3 stones in a row on top of the rock. If one falls off though you have to walk to the bottom of the hill and walk up again to try again.

The cursing stone has been hidden by a priest after the HMS Wasp ran aground (in ok weather and right within sight of the lighthouse).

It was on its way to Tory to collect Tax and the islanders at the time made the wish that they wouldn't land and walked around it and it came true. Or so the story goes.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/local/the-strange-mystery-of-the-ship-and-the-cursing-stone-1-2144722

The priest at the time buried the stone and didn't tell anyone where it was buried so something like that couldn't happen again.

Also the whole rats on tory thing is true.

There are 0 rats on Tory but loads of mice. In an effort to put this prove thr catholic lore to rest a protestant years ago brought some rats to tory to show that they can survive. They didn't!

well thats what i was told by several different people. I do know however we had an issue with Rats in a house i was renting in Letterkenny and the GF got some Tory clay (you have to get it off a certain person who gets it from a certain place) and put it around the outside of the house and we never had an issue again.

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daviddonnelly

hi danniemcq

Many thanks for your reply. I heard a similar story relating to rats and clay. It is said that if you keep a piece of clay that has been taken from Disert graveyard near Letterbarrow in your house you will never have rats. I have heard that people in the area swear by this remedy, might give it a try sometime

madalig12

Two aul women on a donkeys cart, one let a roar and the other let a fart....

There is a second verse but ill ask if anyone about home remembers it, my great uncle used to always be saying it he lived to 102 so goodness knows what era it was from.

Also have a granny who has a cure for ringworm but I don't know what she uses.

muffler

madalig12 wrote: »

Also have a granny who has a cure for ringworm but I don't know what she uses.

goat2

theres no hitch on a hearse,
and no pockets in a shroud
meaning you can take nothing with you, best share it while you are here.

daviddonnelly

I see the famous Donegal Postman has made a prediction for coming snow

Here A few words on the weather that I remember hearing as a child

When the wind's in the north,
Hail comes forth:
When the wind is in the west,
Look for a weet blast.
When the wind is in the south,
The weather will be good:
When the wind is in the east,
It is neither good for man nor beast.


or

Many hawes,
Many snows.

Many rains,
Many rowans.

daviddonnelly

Has anyone heard that the more berries there are on the trees in the Autumn the colder the winter we will have. Is this a sign of a mild Summer/Autumn or the forecast of a bad winter to come?

Madam

daviddonnelly wrote: »

Has anyone heard that the more berries there are on the trees in the Autumn the colder the winter we will have. Is this a sign of a mild Summer/Autumn or the forecast of a bad winter to come?

Yes, my granda used to say that, he was a good one for the weather forecasting too - he was a farmer. I see the Rowan trees around here are loaded this year:eek:

My grandmother wouldn't let anyone bring Holly into the house until Christmas eve(can't remember why - unlucky maybe?).

echo beach

My grandmother wouldn't allow hawthorn blossom (may flower) into the house despite the lovely fragrance. Said it was bad luck because that is the plant that was used to make the crown of thorns for Jesus.

She also had a selection of Colmcille's curses. The way she spoke about him I thought as a child that he was somebody she had known personally, or at least her parents would have known him. I was astonished to discover he had been dead for hundreds of years.
One was that you should put on both shoes before you lace up one. No idea why and I have never heard it from anybody else.

Madam

echo beach wrote: »

My grandmother wouldn't allow hawthorn blossom (may flower) into the house despite the lovely fragrance. Said it was bad luck because that is the plant that was used to make the crown of thorns for Jesus.

She also had a selection of Colmcille's curses. The way she spoke about him I thought as a child that he was somebody she had known personally, or at least her parents would have known him. I was astonished to discover he had been dead for hundreds of years.
One was that you should put on both shoes before you lace up one. No idea why and I have never heard it from anybody else.

Are we related? lol As for the shoe thing my Granny was the same! Seems thats how Columbcille was caught by the bishops people, he fell over his own shoelaces(did they have such a thing in those days?) Btw she could tell you everything he ever cursed too - he was a great man for the curses:)

daviddonnelly

Speaking of curses has anyone ever heard of a Pishogue, sounds rude but its supposed to be a form of curse. One farmer told me that he woke one day and found all his gates to his fields had been removed, not stolen just left lying in the field. He swore that this was a curse or as he called it a pishogue and everything that went wrong for weeks he blamed on the curse

Maldesu

There was having a dark haired man being the first to enter the house on New Years so you'd have good luck.
And I remember all the holly had to be burned on New Years Eve I think for luck too.

buckfasterer

Maldesu wrote: »

There was having a dark haired man being the first to enter the house on New Years so you'd have good luck.
And I remember all the holly had to be burned on New Years Eve I think for luck too.

Its a Scottish tradition to have this person to bring a piece of coal into the house and throw it on the fire. Still done in our house, even if it means going out when everyone is inside and even lighting a fire to do it

daviddonnelly

Yeh the coal thing is a widespread one, as far as i know it is supposed to date back hundreds of years when it was a necessity to carry a burning ember from place to place in order to keep the home fire burning at a time when lighting a fire wasn't as easy as striking a match

daviddonnelly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GeIJCRVg5Q&feature=relmfu

echo beach

Madam wrote: »

Are we related? lol

Probably, everybody in Donegal is related to everybody else if you go far enough back.

As for the shoe thing my Granny was the same! Seems thats how Columbcille was caught by the bishops people, he fell over his own shoelaces(did they have such a thing in those days?)

Thanks for that. I was beginning to think I imaged that one as anybody I ever said it to had never heard it before. It seems like a reasonable explanation. He would have worn a type of sandal, fastened by a long leather thong (the sort of thing you see in gladiator type films) so he could easily have tripped over it.

Btw she could tell you everything he ever cursed too - he was a great man for the curses:)

Yea, I often thought it was a strange thing for a saint but he was first and foremost a politician so maybe that explains it.

echo beach

daviddonnelly wrote: »

Speaking of curses has anyone ever heard of a Pishogue, sounds rude but its supposed to be a form of curse. One farmer told me that he woke one day and found all his gates to his fields had been removed, not stolen just left lying in the field. He swore that this was a curse or as he called it a pishogue and everything that went wrong for weeks he blamed on the curse

I would have translated piseog as an old wives tale rather than a curse and my dictonary says it is a superstisious practice. I've often heard the word used in Donegal in both English and Irish.

The removal of gates (and doors) was a common prank at Halloween and is connected to the idea of trying to confuse the fairies, or 'little people', who would trying to get from their world into ours on that night when it was believed to be possible to cross from one to another.

Until quite recently, and possibly even yet, many people who will tell you they don't believe in fairies will plough around a fairy ring and refuse to cut down a hawthorn tree. As one old farmer said about the little folk, "just because I don't believe in them doesn't mean they aren't there."

Maldesu

I remember one we used to say about horses based on the marking on their legs:

1 white sock, buy him
2 white socks, try him
3 white socks, doubt him
4 white socks, do without him.

There was also the opinion on chestnut red mares, which were just bad news and best avoided.

donegal_road

I know a couple of people with the cure for burns. There are also people who have the cure for Shingles.
The islanders thought it was bad luck to know how to swim, especially the fishermen. I heard it said that it was also bad luck to rescue a drowning person because the sea fairies would claim two more people from the family of the rescuer.
The fishermen thought it unlucky to talk about certain things on the way to fish. If you mentioned fish, the fish would hear you and knew to keep away from the boat. To get dog droppings on the net was also a bad omen.

There is a large rock leaning over the road south of Crolly and there is a superstition about red haired ladies walking past it would cause it to tumble.

I also heard that it is considered unlucky for a person to walk in the front door of someones house and without stopping, proceed to exit through the back door. (Gweedore)

Some years ago there was a course in Druidism running in an old mill between Falcaragh and Dunfanaghy. I knew a guy that did this course and from what he told me, the course material would be of big interest to the OP

Madam

donegal_road wrote: »

There is a large rock leaning over the road south of Crolly and there is a superstition about red haired ladies walking past it would cause it to tumble.

If thats true the rock must have tumbled up and down an awful lot as there's loads of redheads down that way(could you imagine a sunday morning before and after mass):)

Oh I know the rock your talking about(the Dolemon Rock? Can't remember the name in Irish).

I've just been reminded about the old gates into a graveyard where you have to open the gate - turn around to go in - then close it again before you can enter! Seems in the old days the devil couldn't get in as he only traveled in straight lines;)

annascott

daviddonnelly wrote: »

Has anyone heard that the more berries there are on the trees in the Autumn the colder the winter we will have. Is this a sign of a mild Summer/Autumn or the forecast of a bad winter to come?

Yes,I have heard this. There is a holly tree on my property and it is always heavy with berries before a really cold winter. I was told it has something to do with nature fattening up the birds...

donegal_man

Originally Posted by daviddonnelly
Has anyone heard that the more berries there are on the trees in the Autumn the colder the winter we will have. Is this a sign of a mild Summer/Autumn or the forecast of a bad winter to come?

My next door neighbour has the following. "A haw year a braw year, a sloe year no year", I'm not entirely sure whether it refers to the weather we can expect or the weather that produced the particular crop of berries.

muffler

annascott wrote: »

I was told it has something to do with nature fattening up the birds...

You're thinking of men :pac:

K-9

Madam wrote: »

If thats true the rock must have tumbled up and down an awful lot as there's loads of redheads down that way(could you imagine a sunday morning before and after mass):)

Oh I know the rock your talking about(the Dolemon Rock? Can't remember the name in Irish).

I think it's the girl with the reddest hair in Ireland passes, then it will fall. Wonder who thought that one up?

daviddonnelly

I have heard that it means a cold winter ahead and the birds being fattened etc.. but I recently heard too on an RTE tv programme where a weather presenter said something like a good crop of berries on a tree was more to do with a good spring and summer just past

daviddonnelly

The removal of gates being used to confuse the spirits and fairies seems to be something similar to the Halloween custom of dressing up. Ive heard it said that people dressed in order to confuse spirits from the other world while the veil between both worlds were at their thinnest.

donegal_road

lots of hangover cures around too

muffler

donegal_road wrote: »

lots of hangover cures around too

Indeed. My favourite is staying drunk

daviddonnelly

would love to hear a few hangover cures that really work ha ha

daviddonnelly

The saying a hair of the dog is a reference to a hangover cure e.g. a drink of the same stuff the next day will ease the symptoms but it actually comes from an old remedy where people said that to cure a bite from a dog all you had to do was place a dog hair on the wound and it would help it heal. Like cures like in a way. I've never found that this worked with alcohol though all it does is leads to another day of drinking postponing the inevitable hangover for another day

tayto lover

My mother used to say that it was very unlucky to see a new moon through a mirror. Also if a bird flew against your window it was a sign of an impending death.

donegal_road

here is another one, never leave a corpse alone in a house on the night of a wake. I know of a couple of circumstances where a neighbour had to stay in the house with the deceased (by themselves) until the nearest next of kin had arrived from abroad for the funeral.
that would give me the he-be-gee-bees!

echo beach

donegal_road wrote: »

here is another one, never leave a corpse alone in a house on the night of a wake.

Correct, you never leave the corpse alone. The mourners stay awake, hence the name. The idea was that the corpse might wake up or show some sign of life. Remember people didn't die in hospitals in those days and there usually wasn't a doctor so the only way to be certain the person was dead was to wait and keep watch, giving the Irish word for a wake 'faire'.

retalivity

Madam wrote: »

If thats true the rock must have tumbled up and down an awful lot as there's loads of redheads down that way(could you imagine a sunday morning before and after mass):)

Oh I know the rock your talking about(the Dolemon Rock? Can't remember the name in Irish).

That rock has a mythical story behind it too.
Fionn maccumhaill was chasing diarmad and grainne around ireland after they eloped. When he came over Crolly mountain, he spied them resting at the waterfall outside the village, and threw the nearest rock he could find, which narrowly missed the couple. That rock is the same one standing today, right beside the road.

John_P_S

A few years ago myself and a few friends stumbled upon a book in the LYIT library called Irish country cures or something along those lines it was a book full of these cures we had a great laugh at it.

What people thought of was ridiculous! One in particular I found hilarious was if you had a pregnant wife about to go into labour, go outside the house, find a large flag stone and walk around the house three times to ensure she gave birth quickly with no problems. If that hadn't worked go out and find a larger flag stone and do the same! It was a way of killing time basically.

There were a lot of cures involving licking a newt or sheeps blood, hair from a horse, burning the hair etc. People had some crazy ideas back in the day.

muffler

One of our kids when about 3 moths old suffered (pretty badly) from Colic and practically every known medical treatment was carried out but to no avail. We got to hear about a woman outside of Enniskillen who had a cure for colic and we took the child there and he never looked back after it.

daviddonnelly

Here is a curious link to a few stories on here. I once heard that a cure for shingles was to daub the affected area with some blood from a person with the surname Cahill and you would be cured within a day. Well back in the early eighties I remember that someone painted on the side of that big stone outside Crolly "Joe Cahill Was here" does anyone remember this graffiti. Howzat for a link ha ha.

irlpic

We were always told that a good cure for toothache was to fill your mouth with water and sit on the range till it came to the boil - you'd soon forget about the sore gob apparently.

daviddonnelly

Cant beat the old clove when it comes to a toothache. Nowadays you can buy clove oil in the pharmacy but ive heard it said that a whole clove placed near to the tooth will numb it until you get to a dentist

danniemcq

Dragging this off topic slightly but it'll make you smile on a Monday morning.

So back when i was living in galway i had a crazy toothache and couldn't afford dentist abd it was to late to buy painkillers. My housemate suggested whiskey and cotton wool. Sounds like a plan until we realise we have no whiskey, or cotton wool.

We did have Sambuka though sure that'll do and as we had no cotton wool my housemate suggested i hold it in my mouth for a while.

Lets just say i wasn't thinking straight due to trying to kill the pain another way so I agree with this "plan".

I take a mouthfull and hold it, so far so good but doesn't seem to be doing much so i shrug my shoulders to which he says "you need to swish it around"

I did

I wish i didn't, my mouth exploded in heat and pain i went bright red and tried to spit it out, he blocks my path to the sink saying "no thats it working its ok" so i ran for the front door, eyes pouring with water barely able to see struggling the with door and finally spray that horror outside.

to be fair i did forget about my toothache for a wee while but the whole mouth on fire was not worth it.

mathepac

My grandparents had cures and superstitions.

For a cut or a graze lay a piece of spider's web along the cut. This prevented infection and scarring and aided healing.

To cure a cold peel an onion, slice in half and put the cut side down in a saucer of sugar overnight. Drink the resulting liquid. To repeat the dose, remove the outer layer from the onion and do as before. The onion cannot be used to cook with and must be discarded.

To sweep a floor safely, the leaves and slops from the teapot were stored in an old vessel and torn-up newspaper soaked overnight. The newspaper scraps and the tea leaves sprinkled on the floor kept dust down and also killed house dust-mites

Nail clippings and shavings from corns or calluses must be burned to prevent an enemy / evil fairy using them to gain power over you

To cure smelly / sweaty feet, collect your own wee-wee in a suitable vessel and soak your feet in it. Rub an alum stone on your feet and allow to air-dry.

To prepare hands for rigours of hay-making , digging spuds etc, spit on an alum stone and rub on the palms of the hands. Rubs the hands together and air dry.

I'll try to remember more. A few of these have been proven scientifically to work.

donegal_road

I heard that one about the cobwebs, must give it a try.

mathepac

daviddonnelly wrote: »

would love to hear a few hangover cures that really work ha ha

A mug of ice-cold butter-milk from the cold food-store; NB this is not the foul-smelling stuff sold in carboard boxes today, but the residue from butter making. If you want to make "almost butter-milk" today, add a few drops to white vinegar to milk, whole or skimmed.

<SNIP>


Mod edit: careful with your comments please

daviddonnelly

mathepac wrote: »

My grandparents had cures and superstitions.

For a cut or a graze lay a piece of spider's web along the cut. This prevented infection and scarring and aided healing.

To cure a cold peel an onion, slice in half and put the cut side down in a saucer of sugar overnight. Drink the resulting liquid. To repeat the dose, remove the outer layer from the onion and do as before. The onion cannot be used to cook with and must be discarded.

To sweep a floor safely, the leaves and slops from the teapot were stored in an old vessel and torn-up newspaper soaked overnight. The newspaper scraps and the tea leaves sprinkled on the floor kept dust down and also killed house dust-mites

Nail clippings and shavings from corns or calluses must be burned to prevent an enemy / evil fairy using them to gain power over you

To cure smelly / sweaty feet, collect your own wee-wee in a suitable vessel and soak your feet in it. Rub an alum stone on your feet and allow to air-dry.

To prepare hands for rigours of hay-making , digging spuds etc, spit on an alum stone and rub on the palms of the hands. Rubs the hands together and air dry.

I'll try to remember more. A few of these have been proven scientifically to work.

Some interesting stuff, ive heard the one about the spiders web before but the others are totally new to me and make great reading thanks

donegal_man

mathepac wrote: »

My grandparents had cures and superstitions ....................................................
To cure smelly / sweaty feet, collect your own wee-wee in a suitable vessel and soak your feet in it. .....................................

Remember hearing that one from my uncle who was in the PDF way back in the day when they wore woolen socks, they were told it was the urea in the urine that did the trick

Madam

Another one from my granny:) If a cat lies with its back to the fire, there's sure to be bad weather. Oh and never look at a new moon through glass - can't remember why:D

daviddonnelly

Madam wrote: »

Another one from my granny:) If a cat lies with its back to the fire, there's sure to be bad weather. Oh and never look at a new moon through glass - can't remember why:D

The question is do cows know what the weather is going to do?
I've heard people saying that if cows lie in the corner of a field it is sure to rain. Does anyone know if this has any strand of truth in it?

daviddonnelly

When windows won't open, and the salt clogs the shaker,
The weather will favour the umbrella maker!

Obvious, if the air is moist the wood swells and makes the windows stick likewise when the air is moist so too your salt will draw that moisture in making it hard to pour. A well known salt refiner once found a way to add a product to their salt making it inhibit the intake of moisture thus coming up with the advertising slogan "When it rains It pours." Ingenious word play or what

daviddonnelly

Can anyone inform me of any Holy Wells around south west Donegal region and what the cures they claim to provide are

donegal_road

Killybegs and Ballyshannon have holy wells. I am not sure what healing powers they are meant to have.
There are two holy wells near Kileeter, I know not technically Donegal, but pretty much on the border. One is in Kileeter Forest known as Fr. McLaughlin's well, and the other 2 miles outside the village.