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Irish Wives Tales, Superstitions & Folklore

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Slang: Wives Tales
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If you want to know the name of the person you are to marry, put a snail on a plate sprinkled with flour. Cover the plate and leave it overnight. In the morning the initial of the person will be on the plate, traced by the snail.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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Other names for the fairies are “Them”, “The Other Crowd” and of course “The Wee Folk”. You should never call them Fairies, at least don’t say it out loud, they hate that name.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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Fairies live all over Ireland. The places they live are called forts, raths, or mounds. A fairy king rules each of these places. At times it is said you can hear sounds of music and merriment coming from the fairy places.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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Fairy paths are the routes fairies use to get from here to there and are all over Ireland. Never build a house on a fairy path. The best way to avoid this is to set four posts at the corner of the site overnight. If they are still standing in the morning then it is safe to build there. If any have fallen or are moved try another spot. You don’t want your house on a fairy path. You would never have any peace.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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It’s believed woman that appear to have died in childbirth are taken to live with the fairies. The same is true of stillborn babies.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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A dead hand is believed to be a cure for all diseases. Many times sick people were brought to a house where a corpse was laid out, so that the hand of the dead might be laid on them.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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The corner of a sheet that was wrapped around a corpse is a cure for a headache, when tied around your head. It will also reduce the swelling of a limb, if tied around the affected limb.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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The ends of candles used at wakes are good for curing burns.

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Slang: Wives Tales
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If the nearest relative touches the hand of a corpse it will shout out a wild cry if not quite dead.