always ride at full gallop on these occasions, contending for the honour of arriving first at the bridegroom's house.
At the Irish wake here, the body of the deceased is laid on the earth, and covered with a sheet; two candles are placed near it, and the company is entertained with pipes, tobacco, and snuff.—(Vol. i. pp. 593-596.)
Parish of Annahilt.
One peculiar custom generally prevails: the giving a merry convoy home to the bride and groom after marriage, and the struggle is often great between the friends of the former and of the latter who shall first arrive at the destined goal.—(Vol. ii. p. 16.)
Parish of Ballymascanlon.
There are two patrons, one on the first of February, in honour of St. Bridget, on Foughart Hill, and the other on the fifteenth of August, in honour of the Virgin Mary, at Piedmont. Near each patron place is what is called a holy well, named after the saint, at which the people do penance.—(Vol. ii. p. 72.)
Parish of Ballymoyer.
Some remains of Pagan superstition still exist, as also the belief in fairies, and in lucky and unlucky days. A girl chasing a butterfly was chid by her companions, saying, "That may be the soul of your grandfather." Upon inquiry it was found that a butterfly hovering near a corpse was regarded as a sign of its everlasting happiness.—(Vol. ii. p. 83.)
Parish of Cahircorney.
In this parish assemblages are held on the tops of the highest hills on every St. John's Eve, when they light up clears, which are bundles of straw tied to long poles, and as all the most elevated places for forty miles around appear one blaze of fire the effect is very brilliant. It is a Pagan custom, and is conjectured to be a mode of worship paid to the heathen deity Baal, as the Irish at this day call the first of May "La Baal tine," that is, "The day of Baal's fire."—(Vol. ii. p. 98.)
(To be continued.)
