From ancient pagan beliefs to curious death rituals, some superstitions refuse to let go of the national consciousness.
As the world becomes ever more industrialised and urbanized we inevitably distance ourselves further friom the natural world. One result of this is a dismissal of old-world superstitions. Not so In Ireland.
Whether you find yourself in a rural farmhouse or a terraced house in Dublin, you’ll find a lot of families still respect the supernatural. Here are ten weird Irish superstitions still around today.
10. The banshee’s comb – let it go
There are a lot of superstitions surrounding banshees, but everyone can agree on one thing: if you find a comb on the ground, do not pick it up. It could very well belong to a banshee, and they are very particular about their combs.
The punishment for such a transgression varies. The banshee might chase you back to your home and bang on your door until you return the comb. She might curse you so all your hair falls out. Or she might just keep things simple and kill you.
9. Never put new shoes on the table – but why would you?
This is a bit of an odd one. If you put new shoes on the kitchen table, someone in your family will die within the year. Does the punishment fit the crime?
Imagine this: you come home from the shops, take your shiny new shoes out of the box, and distractedly place them on the table. You instantly realise your mistake, but it’s too late. The grim reaper will see you shortly. Harsh, but you have been warned.
8. Don’t sleep with the wardrobe open – who knows what lurks in the darkness?
There may very well be some rational and psychological reasons for not wanting to sleep with the wardrobe open.
People often express an unease if they try to sleep with the wardrobe open. They feel like something isn’t quite right.
Perhaps this is connected to the fear we have of unknown or dark places as children. Places where monsters lurk. Or perhaps it is down to the simple Irish superstition that if you sleep with the wardrobe door open you will have bad dreams.
7. Open the doors if someone dies – set them free
If you visit the house of someone recently bereaved, you may notice something unusual about the house. If they are of a superstitious disposition, all windows and doors in the house may be left open in order to set the departed soul free.
Not only that, but all the mirrors will either be covered with cloth or turned around to face the wall. This is because mirrors can be portals to other worlds, and when the soul leaves the body, it can become trapped in these reflective thresholds.
6. A bird in the house can be good news or bad news – don’t panic
Has a bird ever flown through an open window in your house and become trapped? If it has you will know all too well the chaos that can erupt when such an event occurs.
Next time it happens, take a moment to consider what type of bird you are trying to help back outside. It is considered bad luck if most birds become trapped in your home.
If it is a robin, however, consider yourself blessed. It could be the soul of some dearly departed checking in on you.
5. A thunderstorm can spoil good milk – maybe it’s just science?
Something strange happens to the atmosphere during a thunderstorm. The barometric pressure changes significantly. The hairs on your arm stand up just before a lightning strike as the air fizzes with electricity.
So is it any wonder many Irish households rush to put the milk back in the fridge during a thunderstorm to stop it from curdling? It’s a very old belief, and one not tied specifically to Ireland.
In 1865 the wonderfully-named Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont wrote, “At the time when it thunders, Beer, Milk, etc. turn sour in the Cellars,” a fact many Irish people would still agree with.
4. A single magpie can bring sorrow – keep your eyes peeled
We all learned the rhyme as kids:
‘One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.’ Although some people say, ‘Seven for a secret ready to be told,’ which changes the meaning somewhat.
If you do happen to see a single magpie while out on a stroll, be sure to doff your cap and speak the words, ‘Good morrow, magpie,’ to ward off any impending sorrow.
3. It is bad luck to knock over a chair – careful now
It is hard not to think that a lot of these superstitions arose from a desire for kids to be a little more careful around the house.
If, for example, you stand up too quickly from the kitchen table, and your chair falls backwards behind you – that’s bad luck. Just how bad that luck will be is up for debate, but you might as well play it safe and gently push your chair back as you’re standing up.
2. Never fall in a graveyard – mind the step
If you have ever visited an Irish graveyard you will know how cumbersome they can be to get around.
Some graves are well off the beaten path, and other lie behind rows of other headstones. So it is very easy to lose your footing, but that would be a fatal mistake.
The superstitious among us believe that if you fall in a graveyard, you will die within the year. But it gets worse. If you fall and land on someones grave, death will come even sooner.
Again it is hard not to imagine this was told as a way to get kids to behave themselves in such solemn places, but why to these superstitions always have to be so terrifying?
1. Always have a candle in the window over Christmas – follow the light
Many Irish families light a candle in a window over Christmas so Rudolf can easily find the house in the dark, but there is another reason to keep up this tradition.
During the years of religious persecution under the English, priests had nowhere to give mass. They often did it in forests or on top of big rocks.
So during Christmas many families unlocked their doors and left a candle in the window to let any wander priests know they were welcome within.
