May Eve - The Year in Ireland - Áirc Damhsa Culture Club

On May Eve we travel the roads and fields picking the yellow May flowers from the hedges. Then we visit all the houses and sprinkle the flowers on their doorsteps. It keeps the fairies away as they like to cause lots of trouble at this time of year. We pick yellow flowers because the fairies don’t like yellow! We even put some at gates into our cow sheds and fields to protect the animals. On Oíche Bealtaine, as the sun sets, we light a fire on the hill to celebrate Bealtaine - the beginning of Summer.
The Year in Ireland is a project by the children at Áirc Damhsa Culture Club with Edwina Guckian documenting the folk traditions and calendar customs of Ireland. For more videos visit www.aircdamhsa.com/the-year-in-ireland
Supported by The Arts Council