Hurley.—In former times this was considered a very fine play in those parts but now is altogether extinct. Two men courting the same girl often challenged each other to a hurling match in front of the girl, and the man successful claimed her affection.
I Usga Bagha, i. e., the Water of Life.[15]—This was the name applied to whisky. A custom of hanging a bush, a jug and a glass in front of a house having spirits for sale, and such notices as refreshments for man and beast, disappeared with the enforcement of the license laws and were replaced by the show card.
Judges Bringing Bad Weather to Kerry.—Many persons believe that the judges of the assizes in their circuit bring with them bad weather to the County of Kerry, due to so many false oaths being sworn before them and therefore so much wrong done in the name of justice. Consequently, apart from any other reason, their lordships are considered very undesirable visitors to the county by most of the people outside of the legal profession. It is quite true that at nearly all times in the last century when the assizes were held in Tralee it was either raining or the sky was dark and gloomy and the weather bad. This probably was due to the season of the year in which the assizes were usually held. However, more noticeable was the weather on the mornings of the executions in Tralee Jail of persons condemned to death by judges and packed juries, but innocent in the minds of the people.
Lady Day.—This was the patron day of Dingle. It was held on the 8th of September.
Leprachawn.—This is the name given to a shoemaker appearing in several fairy tales. He is supposed to be a very rich little gentleman and a native of Teer-Na-Oge, who appears very often amongst briers, bushes and boulders. He is not more than six inches in height, is often dressed in a nice green coat ornamented with gold and silver lace, wears knee breeches and a red cap. They tell me he works very hard at mending shoes. His shelves are covered with stacks of gold coin, and in addition he has many crocks of this precious metal. While he is working it is very easy to steal upon him and catch him. I am told that whenever you lay your hands upon him you should seize him quickly and, although his shrill screams will be heart-rending, do not loosen your hold, and at the same time you must not take your eyes off the gold, for if you do he will surely change it into brown leaves and pay you off with a half-sovereign. I fear that most of those who saw the Leprachawn were paid off with brown leaves. If a remarkably poor person became suddenly rich, and was anxious to keep his neighbors in the dark as to the source of his changed position, he was sure to tell them that he captured a Leprachawn.
Lycanthropy.—Here is another wicked superstition, viz., that persons in league with the devil can assume other forms, such as a dog, etc. I am very glad I cannot now find one person to credit such tales.
Marriages and Weddings.—Many of the peculiar customs attached to marriages and wedding feasts are slowly but surely changing for the better. Imitations of the false standards of "decency" set up by the middlemen of the previous centuries are fast disappearing. However, the people, both in town and country, are still too extravagant with their marriages and weddings, and in some instances the marriage fees are unreasonably excessive when compared with the offering made for a like ceremony in other countries. Rare cases of this kind unfortunately rob the marriage of its sacramental appearance and bring it to the level of a civil contract. The practice of making a collection amongst the parties attending a wedding feast and offering it to the curate and clerk is now almost out of fashion.
May Day.—The superstitions connected with May Day were numerous and widespread. That day people watched their cattle. Bad women with their wooden milk gallons placed under their aprons watched for an opportunity to steal upon their neighbors' cows to milk them. Witches were believed to go about as hares. These superstitions, I am glad to say, are now very rare.
Mistletoe.—Kissing under the mistletoe was a custom which is now almost dead and gone, at least in West Kerry. In our part of the county it was a very innocent amusement, and I never heard of a single instance in which it was abused. The custom was this: At Christmas a piece of mistletoe was hung up over the doorway leading into the kitchen or some other favorable place, and whenever a young girl stood under it a young man claimed—and nearly always exercised—a right to kiss the girl and pluck off a berry for each kiss. Sometimes in the town of Dingle two or three young men would stand on a street corner having a piece of mistletoe with them and would kiss every girl that happened to come their way. A girl who would make persons believe that she was running away trying to avoid being kissed by the boys was sure to be hunted until caught; then the mistletoe would be held over her head until she was given at least a half-dozen kisses by each of her captors.