National Folklore collection
You all know May is the month of the fairies. Great people or men that lived long ago rises from their graves on every night in the month of May to fight the old battles that they fought long ago – these men are called fairies. The bad fairies do great harm and trouble in the month of May. They kill cattle, take away milk and butter from the cows and a lot of other mischief. The first three days of May is very dangerous for cattle. The fairies takes away the butter and milk from them and cause the cow to do mischief such as to kick the milk-pail to follow the milkmaid and so on. Every night or evening the milkmaid should make the sign of the cross on the cow’s back with the froth of the milk; This will prevent the fairies from causing mischief to the cows or to tie a bunch of primroses to the cow’s tail after Sun-set or to drive your cattle through hot embers of a fire.
The fairies come around our house’s too to do mischief as well as they come to the cattle; you should sweep the hearth very clean and leave food aside for them. If you don’t: the fairies will come when you are asleep and will torment you by tricking you or pinching you: And if you want to keep out the fairies, scatter the threshold of the door when you are to bed with primroses or hang a horse-shoe over the door: You should not go alone through hills or fort’s or lonely places for fear of the fairies might take you away or listen to any sweet singing in lonely places for these are fairies Don’t leave any food over from May Eve it should be thrown away or given to the dog’s because the fairies takes away the good food and leave bad food instead.
On May morning early it is a great custom which is still practised by a lot of people to go out early in the first morning in the month of May to a clover field and roll yourself in the dew. This roll in the dew will prevent you from getting colds during the year around. There was a great custom practiced long ago which very seldom you hear about it now – no one in any parish is allowed to light a fire in the house in the morning until they would see the smoke rising from the chimney of the priest’s house first. This old custom resembles some old sacrifice or worship offered long ago by druids or some greats saints as St Patrick and a host of other’s.
Collected by Patrick Healy, Bearna Dhearg, Kilferiron Parish, Co. Galway – 3rd May, 1938 – edited
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0026, Page 0190
The Burren and Beyond 