‘A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay'

‘A wet and windy May fills the barns with corn and hay'

• Between sunset on May Eve and the dawn of May Day, one should stay close to home and never sleep outdoors. If you must be out and about, a piece of iron in the pocket might give some protection, as will a spent cinder from the hearth, or a sprig of mountain ash.

• Many people leave the fairies an offering of food and drink either on their doorstep, or at a fort, lone bush or other fairy dwelling.

• A favorite prank of the good folk is to cause people to lose their way by bringing down a mist. One way to protect against this is to wear your coat inside out. This disguise will confuse them and might allow you to escape.

• Care should be taken not to keep anything you find of value on the roadway or anywhere. Best of all, don't pick it up. But, if you wish to be neighborly, you should place the article on a fence, gate or bush so that the rightful owner can find it again.

• The first water taken from the well on May Day was variously known as 'the top of the well' or 'the luck of the well'. In evil hands this water could do great harm; but in the hands of the rightful owner, it brought luck, protection and healing.

• A child born on May Day has the gift of being able to see the fairies - but it was believed the child would not live a long life. Animals born on this day were also sure to be weaklings.

• If a girl went out into the garden before sunrise on May 1st, she could find out the name of her future spouse by taking up the first snail or slug she finds. This is put on on a plate sprinkled with flour. A cabbage leaf is placed on top and left until after sunrise. Then, according to the superstition, she will find the initials of her lover traced in the flour.

• The call of the cuckoo is ominous - to hear it on your right brings luck; on the left, ill fortune; from a church yard meant a death in the family, and before breakfast, a hungry year.

A Busy Time on the Land
May Day was regarded as the symbolic start of a busy season of farm work. People worked in the fields focusing on the care of animals and their movement to different pastures. There was also an emphasis on fishing for example for salmon. It was a busy time for markets and marts in order to sell animals and at this time seasonal labourers were hired.

The important job of cutting turf in the bogs also started in earnest around May Day.Traditionally on the 1 May and the 1 November, tenant farmers paid their half-yearly rents to landlords - these were known as ‘Gale Days'. People also took stock of their food supply that had to sustain them until the crops could be harvested later in the year.

May Day Butter
The first May Day butter, that is, the first butter made from the milk of May Day, was held to be the best of all bases for salves and ointments. And, it was firmly believed that any herb picked at random before sunrise on May Day was a sure cure for warts. Also, if you wanted to keep the rheumatics away for a year, the custom was to eat nettle soup three times during the month, beginning on May 1st.

May Day was especially associated with butter stealing: the stealing of the butter profit of the home. The cows were safe-guarded through attaching flowers around their heads and sometimes red ribbons or bits of rowan were tied to their tails. This was believed to offer them protection from the malign glance of those with the evil eye. The churn was especially vulnerable at this time so often similar items or iron objects were placed underneath it.

All those who visited the house at this time were encouraged to take a dash of the churn. They usually accompanied this with a prayer such as ‘God Bless the Work'. Holy water was often sprinkled on the animals, the churn and all objects associated with dairying. May butter was often kept and used in small quantities to add to the churn and dairy items for good luck and protection.

"People used make the ‘May Eve Churn' and the butter of that churn was salted and put away for the coming year. Each night and morning before the milk is put in the pans, the woman got a small piece of butter of the ‘May Eve Churn' and put it in the pan and then put in new milk. The ‘power' of this butter prevents the milk and cream from being taken by ‘pishoges' or any other supernatural power."

May Flowers
May Flowers were picked on the evening before May Day and this was often done by children who went garlanding for flowers. Yellow flowers, such as primroses, buttercups and marigolds were especially popular, possibly as they reflected the sun and summer. Furze and ferns were also put around the outside of the home.

The flowers used varied depending on which area you lived.

In central Mayo the most common flower used was Marsh Marigold (still used in Castlebar). In North Mayo the flowers commonly used were primroses and bluebells, in parts of County Galway Cowslips were used, while in Munster Yellow Iris(Yellow Flag) were mostly used.

The flowers were placed on the doorsteps of houses and on windowsills. They were believed to offer luck to the house and offer protection from mystical forces - there was a strongly held belief that these were particularly active around the quarterly days. It was believed that the fairies could not enter the home as they could not pass such sweet smelling flowers.

They were often put on farm animals so as to protect them from being ‘overlooked' by people with the evil eye, who might through envy, steal the productivity of the animals.

The tradition of spreading flowers at thresholds was most common in the northern half of Ireland, especially south Ulster. Throughout Ireland, there is a strong tradition of formally showing welcome, through the spreading of rushes.

Sometimes May flowers were placed in the local well so as protect the water supply and the livelihood of those who used it. The stealing or skimming of water from the well or dew from the fields of a neighbour, by those with evil intentions, was believed to result in a lack of produce achieved by the household or the community. Water or fire was generally never asked for or taken from the home on May Eve or May Day so as to retain the luck of the house. Mayflower water taken from the well on May Day was said to offer protection and cures. This water and May morning dew was believed to be good for the complexion.

Traditional Riddle:
"I wash my face in water that has never rained nor run and dry it in a towel that was never wove on spun. "[A face washed in May dew and dried in the open air]

‘Never cast a clout until May is out' is an expression warning of not shedding too many winter layers until the end of the month of May.
Herbs gathered before sunrise on May Day were believed to have particularly effective curative properties.

May, the Month of Mary
Since medieval times in Ireland, there has been a strong association with the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary during the month of May. Much of the traditions associated with May have been incorporated into the Marian processions found throughout the country.

Children and adults collected flowers for crowning Our Lady in town processions. They also used them to decorate grottoes, shrines and church altars. It was and still is very common to have a home altar either in the kitchen or outside in the farmyard. Sometimes the flowers picked for this altar were made into crosses. The maintenance of these altars and their replenishment with fresh flowers continued on from the 1 May, throughout the month.

Bring flowers of the rarest
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May...

For more on the history, folklore and traditions of the West of Ireland see:

http://www.clogherheritage.com/folklore.html