Bealtaine Blessings: Welcoming the Summer across Ireland

Céad Míle Fáilte – and welcome to your Letter from Ireland for this week. It’s the last week of April as I write this, and all around us in County Cork, the countryside is preparing for the great awakening that comes with Bealtaine (pronounced Ba-yowl-tanna) – the Celtic festival starting May 1st that marks the beginning of summer in Ireland.

I’m sipping on a cup of Lyons’ tea as I write, and I hope you’ll join me with whatever you fancy as we start into today’s letter. The hawthorn has started to bloom, always a sure sign that Bealtaine is just around the corner. While the white blossoms of what we call the “May Bush” have always been a familiar sight growing up here in Cork, I’ve been thinking lately about how our ancestors celebrated this important time across the different corners of our island. So today, let’s take a journey around “the four corners” of Ireland to discover the rich vein of Bealtaine traditions and how they varied from county to county.

 

Bealtaine Traditions: A Journey Around Ireland

I received a message last month from Anne in Brisbane, Australia:

“Mike, I’ve been following your letters for years and always enjoy reading about the Celtic festivals. My great-grandmother came from Donegal, and I wonder if Bealtaine was celebrated differently there than in your part of Ireland. Did all Irish people mark the occasion in the same way, or were there regional differences? Thank you for bringing our heritage to life each week!”

What a wonderful question, Anne! While the essence of Bealtaine – marking the transition to the bright half of the year – was universal across Ireland, the way it was celebrated certainly varied from region to region and with a lot of religious traditions layered over the older Celtic traditions. Let me take you on a tour of some of these fascinating local traditions.

Donegal’s Unique Traditions

In your great-grandmother’s native Donegal, Bealtaine had some distinctive customs. The people of Ireland’s northernmost county were particularly concerned with protecting their butter-making during what they considered a supernatural time. They would place a red ember beneath the churn and a bit of lit coal on top of it, believing this would protect the butter from being stolen by fairies or ill-wishers.

In parts of Donegal, especially the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) areas, it is said that families would bake a special bread on May Eve, breaking it into pieces and scattering it in the fields to encourage fertility and good fortune. Some families would even keep a small piece of this “Bealtaine Bread” in the house throughout the year as a talisman of luck.

 

Kerry’s May Morning Dew

Down in the southwest county of Kerry, young women would rise before dawn on May Day to wash their faces in the morning dew. This wasn’t just a charming custom – the May dew was believed to have powerful properties, ensuring beauty, good health, and protection from the sun’s burning rays for the entire year. In some parts of Kerry, women would even collect the dew in jars to use as a beauty treatment throughout the summer months.

Another fascinating Kerry tradition involved the first water drawn from the well on May morning. This water, called “the top of the well,” was sprinkled on cattle, crops, and even on the threshold of the house to protect all within from harm. Some Kerry farmers would also lead their horses to the sea at dawn on May Day, believing that a bath in the salt water would protect the animals from illness throughout the year.

 

Clare’s Lucky Snails

In County Clare, particularly around the Burren region, children would search for snails on May morning. Finding a snail was considered extremely lucky, and the pattern of its trail was believed to predict aspects of the finder’s future. Young women might place a snail on a plate dusted with flour overnight, hoping to see the initial of their future husband in the snail’s trail by morning.

Clare people were also known for their May Boughs – branches decorated with coloured ribbons, shells, and wildflowers that were placed outside cottage doors. Unlike other parts of Ireland where hawthorn was the traditional May Bush, in Clare they often used rowan (mountain ash), believing it had stronger protective properties.

 

Galway’s Sea Rituals

For the coastal communities of Galway, especially in the western region of Connemara, Bealtaine was closely tied to the sea. Fishermen would decorate their boats with spring flowers and take them out before dawn on May Day, casting a symbolic net to ensure good catches for the season ahead. Some would bring home seawater on May morning to sprinkle around their homes and outbuildings, creating a protective circle against harm.

On the Aran Islands, families would leave offerings of milk or freshly caught fish at certain spots along the shore for the sea spirits, seeking safe passage for boats in the coming summer months. The islanders also maintained the tradition of quenching all household fires and relighting them from a communal bonfire – a practice that lingered longer here than on the mainland.

 

Meath’s Royal Fires

In the ancient royal county of Meath, home to the Hill of Tara, Bealtaine celebrations had particular significance. While the Hill of Uisneach is best known as the site of the great Bealtaine fires, legends suggest that the High Kings at Tara also held important ceremonies at this time, reinforcing their sacred duty to ensure fertility and prosperity for the land.

In the farmlands surrounding Tara, farmers would drive their cattle not just between two fires but also around a single bonfire, following the path of the sun to ensure good fortune. They would then collect the ashes from these fires to scatter on their fields, believing they had special fertilising properties.

 

Wexford’s May Bushes

In County Wexford, particularly in the southeast area of Forth and Bargy, the May Bush tradition took on a lively, competitive element. Communities would try to steal each other’s elaborately decorated May Bushes, leading to good-natured “guards” being posted to protect them. The more decorations a May Bush accumulated, then the greater the honour for the community, and some families would even bring their Bush from house to house, collecting ribbons and shells from each.

Parts of Wexford were known for its “May Boys” – groups of young men who would travel from house to house performing songs and dances in exchange for food, drink, or small coins. They would carry a May Bush with them and often wore disguises or special costumes decorated with ribbons and flowers.

 

Back Here in County Cork

Here in Cork, as I’ve mentioned in previous letters, we had our own particular customs. Beyond the May altars erected in the home that I’ve written about before, Cork farmers would often drive their cattle to certain sacred wells on May morning, walking them around the well three times in a clockwise direction for protection. In West Cork, some will still tell you of how they would place yellow flowers – particularly primroses – on the threshold and windowsills to keep fairy mischief at bay.

Parts of Cork were also known for “rambling” on May Eve – young people would walk the boundaries of their townland, often stopping at neighbours’ houses for music and refreshments. This practice reinforced community bonds while also marking territorial boundaries at this important time of year.

 

Connecting to Your Own Irish Roots

As I share some of these local traditions, I’m reminded of how deeply our ancestors were connected to the rhythms of the land and seasons. No matter where your Irish ancestors came from – Anne’s from Donegal, or your own from a different county – they would have marked this turning point in the year with customs that reflected their local environment, needs, and an opportunity to ignite a community spirit.

Do any of these traditions resonate with stories passed down in your family? Or perhaps you’ve heard of other regional customs I haven’t mentioned? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.

Wishing you all Bealtaine Blessings, wherever you may be.

Slán for now,
Mike.