Ireland's Lore and Tales

In my various readings and studies of Irish Traditions and Folklore I have picked up many useful notes on how best to behave. These notes refer to an ‘Irish Wake’, which is very solemn occasion, but also full of celebration that the soul of the dead person has gone to a much better place.

Consider these points:

1. Never use a short cut to bring a body home to the house of the church.
2. Stop the clocks in the ‘wake house’.
3. When fires go out, do not remove any ashes from the ‘wake house’.
4. Do not light a candle from the flame of another at a wake. If you cannot find a match or lighter, then light it at the fire.
5. Refuse no person a smoke at a wake, let them take at least a couple of draws.
6. Refuse no person a drink or a bite to eat but give out both liberally.
7. Don’t silence laughter, because it may be caused by humorous stories concerning the actions of the deceased.
8. Put a cloth over all mirrors in the house.

Besides the above there are several useful helpful tips and warnings about things that might just happen

1. A cock crowing at an unusual hour at night is a sign of trouble or death, while a hen crowing at any time is a much surer sign.
2. A dog crying round a house is also a sign of death in that house.
3. You should not look not in a looking-glass at night, and if you break a looking-glass, you’ll have no luck for seven years.
4. You should never brush a floor in the direction of the door, because if you do you sweep away all the luck that’s in the house.
5. Finally, other than something borrowed and something blue, a girl who is getting married should wear, on her wedding day, something that belongs to a married woman.

What other notes and tips have you heard about?