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Mary Anne Meehan
Paper 5
STATE MASSACHUSETTS
NAME OF WORKER LOUISE G. BASSETT
ADDRESS BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
DATE OF INTERVIEW JUNE 15, 1939
SUBJECT LIVING LORE
NAME OF INFORMANT MARY ANNE MEEHAN
ADDRESS BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Names Louise G. Bassett Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore Topic: Mary Anne Meehan
Paper 5
It was about five o'clock in the afternoon on a cold blustery
spring day. The sun had definitely retired and the fire in the old
Franklin stove was more than welcome.
Mary Anne Meehan and I sat in front of the open grate sipping our
tea and munching on some English muffins. I had gone to considerable
trouble to get those muffins, Mary Anne is especially fond of them and I
was anxious to get the lady in as mellow a mood as 'twas possible. I
wanted her to talk.
"Shall I turn on the lights?" I asked.
"Oh, no, don't, let's stay jest as we are, I like it like this."
replied my guest.
So we sat in silence for a while, watching the little flames leap
back and forth like playful kittens. Then -finally$ I said, "Did your
Mother ever tell you much about Ireland, how they did things when she
was a girl, their superstitions and all that?"
"She sure did, many an' many's th' time if she was here now,
jest this minute, settin' before this warm fire, she'd probably be after
tellin' us lots of things. She loved th"gloamin", like she called it."
*Tell me some of the stories she used to tell you." I coaxed.
"Well, I don't know as I mind, let me think she used to tell
us about th' fairies youh know th' Irish believe in fairies. Anyhow,
they used to. They called them, 'the little people', then she told what
they did at wakes what they said when youh go in an' when youh leave some-
one's house. What kind of thing do youh want to hear about?"
"Oh, anything, just tell me what_ever comes to your mind:"
Names Louise G. Bassett Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore Topic: Mary Anne Meehan
Paper 5
"Well, here's some sayin's I remember an' some toasts. Here's ant
old sayint that means jest th' same as our 'Never put off 'till tomorrow
what youh can do today'. Th' Irish have• it this way. 'Time enough, lost
th' ducks.' Then 'It's a poor hin who can't scratch for itself.' Then
another, 'A daagikr-in-law an, a. mother -in-law are like a cat ano mouse
facin' each other.' Then here's a good one, 'Beware of th' horns of a
bull, th' heels of a. mule, an' th' guile of a Englishmen.' That shows how
some felt about th' English, don't it? My mother used to say 'I don't like
th' English, God save their souls.'
"Oh, here's another I remember, 'Th' owner of a cow should be at thl
tail of her himself.'
"I don't quite get th' meaning of that, do you Mary Anne?"
"Sure, it's as plain as th' nose on your face. When a cow falls in
a bog hole an' my mother said they was always doin' it 'cause they get
plenty of those pesky things in Ireland, an' th' only way to get th' cow
out was to pull her out by th' tail. Everybody was willin' to help an'
do their share but they was always thinkino it would be best for himself
to be at th' cow's tail."
*Simple and sane)" was my offering.
"Sure enough. Here's a wise one. 'Thirst is th' end of drink ant
sorrow is th' end of love.' Mat do youh think about this one, is it a
riddle) I don't know meself? Cis Mary Anne related her mother's sayings
I noticed she took on many of the Irish idioms.)
Name: Louise G. Baisett
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: Brookfield
Topic: MarY Anne Meehan
Paper 5
*Well, here 'tie. 'What is there that seems worse to a, man than his
death an' yit he does not know but it may be th' height of his good luck.'
Do youh know th' answer?"
I didn't.
"here's some toast's, 'May th' divil fly away with th' roof of tilt
house where ye an' me aren't wanted.' Here's another, 'Silk for youh ant
wool for me but enough of drink for both of us,' ant 'To thousands of men
come thousands of different hopes.' There's one I liked especially,
"Here's wishin' good health an, long life to yez,
ant th' choice of th' girls for a wife to yez,
An' your land without penny of rint to yez,
If these three blessin's are aint to yez
Then there'll be peace an' contint to yes.
"Mice, huh? I don't believe I can think of any more jest now."
"'Well, tell me something about the fairies, why do they seem to be
in such great numbers in Ireland, there seems tobe so many more there
than in any other part of the world?"
"Some countries ain't over good to fairies, but th' Irish always have
been. Youh see folks never know but what a stranger may be a fairy in
disguise -besides th' Irish like 'am. That's why there are so many there,
an' why they do be doin' so many good things for th' Irish.
youh ever hear how they come to be fairies? Youh didn't?
it seems one day God got up from his throne to look after somathin, any
when he went back to set down again, Lucifer was settinl in God's place
on the throne. Then Hell was made in a minute. (My mother told us this
Name: Louise G. Bassett Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore Topics Miry Anne Meehan
Paper 5
lots of times.) God moved his hand an' swept away thousands of angels,
an' he was goin' to sweep away thousands more. Then the Angel Gabriel
said to God, 'Oh, please God, stop or there won't be anybody left in
heaven.' All right,' said God, 'I'll stop, them that are in Heaven,
let 'em stay here, them that are in hell, let 'em stay there, them that
are between heaven an, hell, let 'am stay in th' air.' An' th' angels
that remained between heaven an' hell are th' fairies."
*Mary Anne, do you mean to s ay that God was in a temper when he
moved his hand?"
"Bounds s' if he was mad, don't it? But I don't know anythint 'bout
it, all I'm doint is repeatin' my mother's story. I never asked.
Some fairy's are naughty an' they turn th' milk sour if th' farmer
or his wife does anythin' to displease them. There was a young man who
lived near my mother an' he drove a hearse an' he used to see fairies jest
before somebody died an' he'd get all ready for a trip ant he never was
wrong. An' she said there used to be a coach without any horses that
would glide down th' road an' that always meant a death, it was sort -a
like a shadow coach.
"If any one was afraid an' youh wanted to go on a errand all youh
had to do to protect yourself was to carry a piece of coal in your pocket
an' that would ba a charm against th' bad fairies. They said there was
more fairies in Kilarney then in any place in Ireland. Once there was
a wicked land agent who tried to do a farmer who was a hunchbackelhis
farmer had been real good to th' fairies an, so to help him with till'
Name: Louise G. Baasett4 Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore Topic: Mary Anne Meehan
Paper 5
lan+gent, they took his hump off an' put it on th' land agent. So
youh see it paid to be kind to th' faities.
"My mother said she knew lots of folks who had heard a banshee but
she only knew one man who said he had actually seen one.
"But me mother said th' old people said they'd seen many a fairy in
th, lonely places in th' hills, they was little wee folks. Here is one
of th' stories we had our mother tell us over ant over.
"There was a. young man who wasn't afraid of fairies or ghosts, well
one night he was on his way home when he sees coming toward him three Men
all dressed in black, carrin' acoffin. He thought it was strange that
there want four men instead of three, so he went up an' took hold of th'
end where he thought th' fourth man ought to be, nobody said a word to
him an' he didn't say a word to them. Well, they kept on welkin' a little
ways when all at once they let th' coffin down to take a rest, it looked
like, when,-- away they went out of sight. Just as th' coffin touched
th' ground th' men disappeared. Thl young man thought that was sort -a
funny, so he opened th' lid of th' coffin he sees a beautiful young girl
a-lyin' there an' she had her eyes open an, she was amilinl. Well, was
he surprised. He helped her out of th' coffin an' tried to talk to her
but pretty soon he saw she was dumb, so, he took her to his home where
his father an' mother lived.
"Well, about a. year or so after that Is was welkin' by that very
sopt where th' coffin had been set down an' he beard a. voice an' be
stopped 'cause he thought some one was speakint to him but they want,
Name: louise G. Bassett Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore
Topic: Mary Anne *Oehan
Paper 5,
but he heard what they said. It was a man's voice an' it said, 'It's
been over a year since he took th' girl away from us.' An' then he
heard —another voice, an' this was a. man, too, 'Well, she was so dumb
he couldn't get much happiness out of her an' of course he never thought
to pul. out thl silver pin back of her ear.
*Well, was th' young man excited he sure was, so he ran home ant
looked behind her ear, an' sure enough there was th' silver pin an' he
pulled it out an' did she talk she said she had been stolen by th'
fairies over a year before th' fairies believed her father had been
unjest to 'em.
*So, she sez to him, 'If you'll gat me some wool, I'll knit youh
a. waist..coat.' He didn't want a waistcoat but abe kept at him an' so,
by an' by, he got th' wool an' she knitted th' waistcoat, an' then she
said, 'Now ye go to th' fair an' there is a green house there an' youh
go to th' door an' a old man will come ant youh let him see th' waist-
coat.'
*So, th' yount, did as he was told ant the old man got all agitated
when he seen him an, he aeted who knit th' waistcoat ant he sez there's
only one person could have knitted that vest an' th' fairies took her
away for revenge on him.
,*So, th' young lad took th' old man to his home an, when th' girl
an' he laid eyes on each other they was so happy they laughed an'
cried, for th' old man was her father.
*So, th' young man an' th' girl was married an' th' girl's father
lame: Louise G. Bassett
Titles Living Lore
Assignments Brookfield
Topics Nary Anna Meehan
Per 5
gave them a fortune an' it is said his family have never been without all
th' money they want.
In some places in Ireland they say there are 'fairy trees', that if
youh get some of th' leaves youh will always have good luck.
"louh should always leave a saucer of cream ready for th' fairies on
Hallo/4Eve, for if youh do it makes them friendly to youh, they are
supposed to be every,where that night. An' youh mustn't eat blackberries
after th' first of uovember because the fairies are supposed on Halloweve,
Eve to put some kind of blight on th' berries that makes it bad for eatinJ
*Some of th' cures th' Irish have are awful, funny my mother knew
aiold woman who could tall by feelin' of your ears if youh was gain' to
die or get well, that is, if youh was sick.
"They called whoopin, cough, 'chin cough'. Lots of Irish mothers
take th' child that has 'chin cough' out on a road ant then they wait
till a. man comes ridin' along on a white horse. Th' mother stops th'
man, tells him what aits th' child an' este him what he thinks she had
better do for it an' no matter what he sez, she does it an' th' child
gets well right away.
"Youh can cure a sty, they think, by putting seven thorns from a
gooseberry bush on thl sty.
"A boy was bit by a dog -my mother knew th' family an' all about it.
Th' dog owner was scared 'cause he didn't know what th' boy's father
would do. Well, anyway, th' boy's father come to see th' dog's owner
an' said he had a request to make. Th' owner was scared stiff but
Names Lionise G. Bassett
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: Brookfield
Topic: WY Anne Meehan
ZSPAEJ.
tried to look comfortable an' he sea, 'What's th' favor?' Th' boy's
father hemmed an, hawed an, of course this got th' owner petrified
with fear. Finally th' father said, 'I don't like to ask it but
would youh give me a hair out of th' dog's tail?' Th' owner couldn't
believe his ears, so, he said, 'Sure, take all th' hairs youh want,
take th' tail if youh want to.' 'Sure, that'd be too much altogether,
sex till father, 'All I rant is a hair to lay on th' bite in th' young
lad's leg, that way no harm would come to it.
*Sure, what am I sittin' here for, tellint youh such goings-on.
My mother told me all these things God rest her soul and my poor
mother wouldn't be tellin' a lie if her life depended on it. I often
thought though, she had a twinkle in her eye when she told them to us
kids. Go on now with youh I'll tell youh no more.*
When Mary Anne says she won't She doesn't. The rest of
the evening, I talked and she asked questions.