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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.;)

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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.

echo beach

daviddonnelly wrote: »

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?

I've heard that one too. The theory behind it was that after the rain the cows would have dry grass to eat where they had been sitting, although I don't know why a cow couldn't eat wet grass.

tayto lover

Years ago when a mother had to leave the house to go outside for sticks/coal etc she would put the fireside tongs across the cradle where her baby slept to stop the fairies from swapping the child while she was out.
Around my way older people still say "that lad must have been swapped" if a young lad behaved strangely.

daviddonnelly

tayto lover wrote: »

Years ago when a mother had to leave the house to go outside for sticks/coal etc she would put the fireside tongs across the cradle where her baby slept to stop the fairies from swapping the child while she was out.
Around my way older people still say "that lad must have been swapped" if a young lad behaved strangely.

Yeah I heard this one before, I think if I remember right it was said that the fairies and spirits didnt like iron or something like that and the swapping thing centered around the belief in changelings whereby a baby would be swapped while still in the cradle with one of their own. Strange that this belief was carried on well into the 20th century

therandomguy

"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."

...or you could just use soap and water!

tayto lover

daviddonnelly wrote: »

Yeah I heard this one before, I think if I remember right it was said that the fairies and spirits didnt like iron or something like that and the swapping thing centered around the belief in changelings whereby a baby would be swapped while still in the cradle with one of their own. Strange that this belief was carried on well into the 20th century

There are still many many farmers who will not disturb a fairy-circle or ring. They plough the field around it but won't disturb it in case they suffer bad luck as a result.

tayto lover

therandomguy wrote: »

...or you could just use soap and water!

Yes "Wash and Go" has been replaced by "Go and Wash" in many schools and work places.

mathepac

This is not medical advice, it's an old remedy for in-grown toe-nails (not to be combined with "Go and Wash" above

).

Soak & Wash the feet in warm, salted rain-water to soften the nails. Cut the offending nails, carefully removing the bits growing into the toe. Round off any sharp edges on the toe-nails and If there is infection present, wash out the wound carefully with ordinary vinegar. Insert a loose ball of raw lambs-wool (still contains lanolin) into each cleaned wound. Repeat every 10/12 days until nails grow normally. (and they will - a magician from the republic of west cork proved it)

As an alternative to surgically ripping the offending nail from the nail-bed, this cure had attractions for athletes, plough-men, farmers, shop-assistants and others for whom healthy, pain-free feet were important.

I'd heard of cutting a deep "V" in the middle of an ingrown toe-nail as a remedy but I've never heard any news of it working.

donegal_road

I have a few more for you.

Gartan clay has been associated with safe travel, and it can only be one particular family that gets it for you. My uncle has some still in his car from years ago.

The cure for warts can be got at the holy well in the graveyard in Convoy.

There is also a holy well in Drumkeen with the same wart-healing power, but it has to be a Drumkeen local that brings you the holy water.

The colour green was considered unlucky, green garments were avoided. I knew a lady who would never buy a green car.

It is still considered very bad luck by some people if you are discharged from hospital on a Saturday. I dont know the origins of that one, but its hilarious

Madam

donegal_road wrote: »

I have a few more for you.

Gartan clay has been associated with safe travel, and it can only be one particular family that gets it for you. My uncle has some still in his car from years ago.

The cure for warts can be got at the holy well in the graveyard in Convoy.

There is also a holy well in Drumkeen with the same wart-healing power, but it has to be a Drumkeen local that brings you the holy water.

The colour green was considered unlucky, green garments were avoided. I knew a lady who would never buy a green car.

It is still considered very bad luck by some people if you are discharged from hospital on a Saturday. I dont know the origins of that one, but its hilarious

I had heard that one about Gartan clay and I know my mother never wore green although she would often dress my brothers in green(maybe a female thing?). As for a cure for warts my dad always said get a cow to pee on your hand(hopefully thats were the warts were;))first thing in the morning and your wart would fall off within the week.

How about the idea that the caul from a newborn protects the wearer from drowning, my uncle still has his although he can't swim so maybe theres is something to it - not sure its particulary a Donegal thing though.

Has anyone any idea what cork from a certain tree at Ards would be a cure for, I remember my mother mentioning it once but can't remember what the cure would be for?

donegal_road

I found this site, Bealoideas.com which is right down your street OP. When you translate the page, go to 'categories' and there are 2 sub headings, one on superstition and the other on health related matters.