The Tipperary Antiquarian

I was doing a little research on a completely different topic (looking at the Kennedy castle at Killowney Big) when I went looking at some of the older aerial photos on http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/ . There on the (year) 2000 aerial photo of the area was a massive crop-mark to the North-west of the castle. I presumed it must have been previously recorded but decided it was worth a look on the Sites & Monuments Record. Amazingly it had never been spotted before. It was probably just because in this particular photo it looks as if some kind of cereal crop had been sown or possibly reseeding had been carried out. I posted on an archaeology group about it and as luck would have it Colm Moriaty did a bit more research on the Irish Folklore Manuscripts and found some more information on it. Coincidentally it was me who had originally transcribed the scan but didn't link the two together!  http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922139/4856034/5012309 "On...

It seems this saints day relates to another agricultural milestone, when the wheat seeding would be completed and winter preparations complete (for more info see there ). There is some confusion whether the killing of the cock is done on St. Martin's Eve (10th Nov) or St. Martin's Day (11th Nov). Its not a feast day that I ever recall hearing of growing up but I have something in the back of my mind about perhaps a neighbour doing it that I will check out. Here is some folklore from the Irish Folklore Commission about St. Martin's Day in Tipperary. There seems to be a good geographical spread (and I may have missed a few of them) so it must have been fairly widespread. From Portroe http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922149/4856473/5011453 "St Martin's day is on the 11th November and the day before it is St Martin's Eve. On this Eve it is the custom to kill a fowl of some kind and to spill its blood behid the door in honour of St. Martin. The blood is spil...

Some folklore about Halloween from Toor near Newport in North Tipp. "People do not practice the old customs nowadays as much as they used long ago. They got a tub of water and they put an apple floating in it. They all knelt down around the tub with their hands behind their backs. They began to dive for the apple and whoever got it ate it. They made a wooden cross and they put a lighted candle and an apple on each alternative beam. The cross was put spinning around and each t ried to grab the apple in his mouth. Very often the candle was grabbed instead of the apple. Then the grown-up unmarried girls sat around the fire. One girl took the key of the door in one hand and the spoon of melted lead in the other. When she dropped the lead through the key it made a certain figure - If it made a ship she would marry a sailor. If t made a spade she would marry a farmer. If it made a sword she would marry a soldier. After this they went out in "cabbage haggard" and p...