On November’s Night peel an apple without breaking the skin, light a candle, and look in the glass, and you will see the man you will marry.
If the door opens of itself it is a sign of death.
On November’s Night, put all the letters of the alphabet into a bowl of water, and the initials of your future husband will float together.
It is right to make the sign of the cross when you light a fresh candle.
It is right to leave a house by the same door that you entered, otherwise you will have bad luck.
When giving away milk, always add a little drop of water.
If you have anything nice for tea on November’s Night, leave some of it on the window for the Poor Souls.
If the man of the house dies, and if he owned a horse, sell that horse and buy another or that horse will die on the land.
Never sweep the house out on the threshold after dark, or you might blind the fairies. Leave the sweepings behind the door.
On Christmas Night light a candle in every room, as the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Child will visit every room in the house.
If you see the new moon, and if you have money in your pocket, turn the money three times and you will have money till you see the new moon again.
Playing cards should not be burned, they should be drowned.
The first person the cat looks at after washing his face will be the first to die.
If you kept playing cards in your pocket after 12 o’clock, you would see the devil.
It is right to put the tongs across the cradle if you are going out and leaving the baby alone.
If you see a common pin on the floor, and the head of it is turned towards you, you will have good luck.
It is not right to pass out a button on the road without picking it up.
If you spill milk on the floor you should always say; God speed it, someone wanted it.
Sweep the hearth going to bed to clean up for the fairies.
Spilling salt is the sign of a fight. Throw a grain in the fire to keep the fight away.
If you bring salt out to the man in the field, do not take it home again.
If you are leaving an old house to into a new one leave the cat after you.
It is right to put a cow after calving into another pasture field, or the calf might die.
If you are selling a white cow, carry your rosary beads in your pocket, or if you didn’t you would be offered only 6d for the cow, or the cow might lose her tail.
It is not right to leave your hair uncut till you are seventeen years, or you might die at thirty.
If you cut your hair on Friday it will not grow again.
Tie a quenched coal in the baby’s bib to protect him, if leaving him by himself.
It is not right to cut the baby’s nails till he is a year old.
The first day you get the pension, it is right to wear a black sock on one foot, and a white sock on the other.
It is not right to throw out water at night during Christmas as it wets the spirits.
If you go out after midnight on November’s Night the fairies will bring you.
Hang a head of cabbage at the back of the door on November’s Night and the first man who comes in will be your future husband.
Money got as wages from a priest was considered unlucky. People used to give it to the landlord.
Begin to build a new house on Friday; go live in a new house on Friday.
Card playing should not be going on in a house when a person is on his knees praying.
Never let the fire out on May Day.
When a dog eats grass, it is a sign of rain.
Never sit under a rafter when you are playing cards or you will have bad luck.
It is very lucky to have a rabbit’s foot in your pocket when playing cards.
It is not right to bring milk from a house in which there is a corpse.
Do not throw out ashes on Good Friday.
If you are ‘making a churn’, do not let somebody wearing a nailed boot out of the house, and don’t let anybody bring a coal of fire or a bit of turf or you will get no butter from the churn.
Never begin a new work on the feast of the Holy Innocents. (Lá na Leanbh).
No sweepings should be thrown our form a house in which there is a corpse.
If you are going to a fair, and a hare crosses your path, turn home.
A broken horse shoe and a grain of salt under a churn bring good butter.
Never have a row with a blacksmith.
Never bring a spade on your shoulder into a dwelling house, or you will never grow.
Do not give away milk on May Day.
If you have a big thumb, it is a sign you will make money.
It is unlucky to marry on Friday or Sunday.
It is unlucky to dream of your father.
You will hear of a marriage if you dream of rats.
It is lucky to dream of fire.
It is unlucky to let your rosary beads fall.
If the cat scrapes the ground, it is a sign of rain.
It is unlucky to put your foot on a spade in the house.
If the calf refuses its milk, spill it; do not take it back to the house.
It is unlucky to hear lambs bleating after midnight.
If you are going to say something, and if you are afraid you will forget it, make the sign of the cross on your tongue with your teeth, and you will not forget it.
If a black cat comes into your house, you will be very lucky.
If you are going astray on a dark night, turn your coat inside out, and you will find the right way.
A robin hopping on the wall in front of you is a sign of good luck.
It is unlucky to bring a ‘new leather’ during Christmas week.
It is wrong to leave the house with flour on your hands.
It is lucky to bring cat’s fur in your pocket when you are going to the market to sell bonhams.
When a person is cutting the foundation for a new house, it is right to make four clamps (clampaí) of turf in the four corners. If they are knocked the first night, the spot will not be lucky.
If you were going to court and met a red-headed woman, it would be better for you to turn home as you would be severely beaten.
If you met a weasel on the road and if you injured her in any way, you would have to give her a half of thread to make a pair of stockings.
Do not leave new shoes up on another person’s table or you will have a fight with that person.
If a dog cries at midnight, it is a sign of the death of any sick person in the neighbourhood.
It is a sign of a visitor to see a hen and cock fighting.
It is not right to give a brooch to a girl unless you hand it to a man first.
If a person leaves a house after midnight, and the dog begins to bark, the people of the house feel very uneasy about the person who has left.
Throw the tongs for good luck after a person going to a fair.
Never leave the water in which you washed your feet in the house all night. Put a coal in it.
If you met spirits by throwing out water late at night, they will kick you out of the house on May Day and November’s Night.
If an owl screeches near a house in the daytime, it is a sign of bad luck.
When you come home from a funeral, take a grain of salt or the spirits will take you.
If you count forty white horses, the next man you meet riding a white horse will be your future husband.
Don’t clean the stables on Christmas Eve.
If you kill a pig or a sheep, do not give a brother or sister a kidney, or the kidney will grow out.
It is right to leave the door open on All Souls Eve to let the Poor Souls in.
If you pull a tooth on November’s Night you will have none to pull next year.
If a person dies in the house, you should not churn the cream you have gathered.
DO not leave the house with a kindled fire while the churning is being done.
You should not hand a reaping hook to a person; you should place it on the ground and let him pick it up.
If a person sneezes at the table, it is right to hand him a bit of bread.
It is unlucky for a bride to set a clutch of chickens during the first year of her marriage.
An infant’s clothes should not be put out on the line at night until he is christened, as the fairies could bring the baby.
If a beast dies, and you sell the skin, it is right to buy metal with the money.
Collected by The Folklore Commission from National Schools in the 1930s
Online at dúchas.ie – follow this link for the original
The three schools included were
Shrule National School (Boys) :: Shrule (Girls) :: Glencorrib
No submission was received from Kilroe N.S.