Latest news with #Dúchas
BreakingNews.ie
06-07-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Burning ears, magpies, and the cure: Old Irish superstitions and remedies
Any Irish person, or anyone in the general vicinity of an Irish granny, has most likely heard a random, puzzling superstition or a scientifically questionable cure for a common ailment. From burning ears meaning someone is talking about you, to saluting or waving to a magpie to prevent sorrow, the Irish are superstitious folk. Advertisement And even if you don't believe in these old notions, chances are you know a family member or friend who obeys them and will swerve while driving trying to wave to a singular magpie. So let's dive into some old Irish superstitions and cures, both the well-known ones and the more obscure tales. Broken mirrors, itchy palms, inside out clothes Some of the more well-known superstitions include a broken mirror meaning seven years of bad luck for the person who broke it, itchy palms meaning money, and putting your clothes on inside out being a sign of good luck. According to digitised records in UCD's Irish National Folklore Collection, Dúchas, whether money is coming your way or not depends on which palm is itchy. Advertisement Sources from Garryhill, Co Carlow, claim that an itchy left palm means money/good fortune is coming your way, while it's generally thought that an itchy right palm means you will have to pay money out in the near future. There seems to be a pattern when it comes to good luck on the left, bad luck on the right, as a hot or burning left ear means someone is talking good about you, while a burning right ear means someone is talking bad about you. The superstition that putting your clothes on inside out is good luck may have roots in fairy folklore. One way to protect yourself from fairies when walking near a fairy fort was to turn your coat inside out when passing through. Advertisement The 'stray sod' phenomenon sees a person who is walking, usually at night, going astray and losing their sense of direction. This causes them to wander about aimlessly and, in most tales, this lasts until the sun comes up. Some say that it confuses them, and they become disorientated, while others say that it simply feels like they can keep walking and never come across anything. It feels like they never get any further. Poet Sandra Alcosser describes the patch of ground or grass classified as a stray sod as being "charmed by fairies". The victim will find that "the gate is gone and the path erased behind you". Advertisement The only way to get out of a stray sod trance is if someone gets you out of it. You can try and turn your jacket inside out, and walk with your head down, but this may not work. Some other old Irish superstitions include: To dream of a death is the sign of a birth; To dream of a wedding is the sign of a christening; You should wish and bow when you see the new moon for the first time; To dream you lost a tooth means you have lost a friend; To cry on your birthday means you will cry every day of the year; An itchy nose means you will fight with someone. When it comes to magpies, the old saying "one for sorrow, two for joy..." may run through your mind as you wave at one to send the bad luck away. 'One for sorrow, Advertisement Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret that will never be told.' According to TheFadingYear, the rhyme itself was first published in 1780, although like many others it is believed to be much older. Old Irish cures and customs Perhaps the most common and well known old Irish cure is that of using a dock leaf for a nettle sting. Rubbing the affected skin with a dock leaf is said to relieve the pain of the sting. A cure for a sty in the eye, or an otherwise painful/itchy eye, is to rub the sty/eye with a gold wedding ring while saying: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Other variations of this method claim that blessing yourself before and after using the ring is enough to get the job done. If you find yourself plagued by a wart, an old Irish cure tells you to bury the head of an eel in the ground and expect your wart to fall off when the eel's head rots. If you're looking for an old, scientifically sketchy cure for jaundice, why not try boiling a worm in milk for nine mornings, then straining off the milk and drinking it. Doesn't sound too appetising, to be honest. Ireland Tales from Irish folklore: People 'carried' by fai... Read More Those suffering with hair loss can breathe a sigh of relief as apparently the cure is as simple as washing the bald parts of the head with sheep's milk. Worth a try! A cure for any physical wound lies in the water of any of the blessed wells across the country, which seems to be the most reasonable out of these cures. Old Irish cures are as fascinating as they are impractical. I would personally love to know how they came about, where they originated from, and whether the reason they are still floating around is due to a good success rate! I suppose there's only one way to find out.
Irish Examiner
05-06-2025
- Climate
- Irish Examiner
Midges, dogs, spiders, and fog were all once used to predict weather
Dare we say it… people — especially farmers, gardeners, and those responsible for public water supplies — welcomed recent rain after the long, dry warm spell. Trees, plants and flowers look greener and healthier after a good dose of 'soft' rain seeping into the roots... far better than hydrating with treated water which contains chemicals such as fluoride and chlorine. Now, I hear people wondering aloud, with sighs of trepidation: 'Have we had our summer?". It's far too soon, however, to be thinking that way as most of the summer is still to come. Though reluctant to confidently make exact weather predictions for more than a week ahead, due to the 'chaotic nature of the atmosphere', Met Eireann gives seasonal forecasts. For June, July and August, the outlook is for above average temperatures, with average rainfall overall. Temperatures are likely to trend between 0.5 and 1.0°C above average generally for the three-month period, possibly better in the south and east. Summer cloudburst: folklore had it that a halo around the moon meant bad weather; a red sunset the opposite. A north wind in summer and fog rising in the hills were good portents; while a dog eating grass, a cat sitting with its back to the fire and soot falling from the chimney signalled rain. The rainfall forecast is less certain with the potential for both wetter and drier periods. There is a signal for wetter than average conditions in June, and drier than average in August, with July hard to call either way. Sea surface temperatures around coasts and over the Atlantic to the west and south are expected to be above average in the period, says Met Eireann. All of which brings us to age-old weather folklore which people, particularly farmers, once depended on. Problem with that, however, was that much of it amounted to very short-term, sometimes almost immediate, forecasts. In summers long ago, when midges were active on humid summer evenings, or ants began to appear in large numbers, our elders told us rain way was surely on the way. And it invariably was. An example of weather lore on dú How people attempted to foretell the weather from natural signs features in the Dúchas national schools folklore collection. For instance, a halo around the moon meant bad weather; a red sunset the opposite. A north wind in summer and fog rising in the hills were good portents; while a dog eating grass, a cat sitting with its back to the fire and soot falling from the chimney signalled rain. 'Another sign of rain is when spiders leave their cobwebs," noted Jeremiah McAuliffe, a pupil in Ballyhass National School, Mallow, County Cork. Nowadays, we rely on science. Monthly forecasts, which are improving in accuracy, can provide an insight into weather patterns in the month ahead: will it be colder than average, wetter than average? Such forecasts should not be used for specific planning purposes, but can forewarn the likelihood of severe weather, enabling planned action to protect life and property.
