The Wrenboys

On St. Stephen's Day 2007 I happened to hear that there were Wrenboys gathered down at the river.
Wrenboys, (Lucht an dreolin) are people who dress in straw masks and colourful clothing on the 26th. December and "hunt" the wren. The wren celebration is part of ancient Irish culture and dates back beyond pre Christian times, to life in Celtic Ireland. The druids are said to have studied the flight of the wren in order to make predictions of the future. The Irish word for wren is dreolin which translated means, Bird of the Druids.
In the intervening years, the wren has mainly been associated with treachery, betraying Irish soldiers who fought the Viking invaders, in the late first and early second millennia. The wren is also said to have betrayed the Christian martyr, Stephen after who the day is named. Traditionally, the wren was hunted, captured, killed and tied to the Wrenboy leader's staff but this aspect of the hunt is no longer practiced. Sometimes a fake bird is used instead, and the Wrenboys, accompanied by traditional ceili music bands parade the streets. They stop in all the pubs and generally enter by one door and leave by a different one.
I hurried down, and walked with them as they began their march through the Main Street, continuining this ancient tradition, that still resonates deeply to this day.




The Wran, the Wran the king of all birds,
St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,
Although he is little, his honour is great,
Put your hand in your pocket and give us a trate.
Dreoilin, dreoilin where is your nest?
Its in the bush that I love best,
Behind the holly and ivy tree,
Where all the birds shall follow me.
As I was goin' down to Youghal,
I saw a wran upon a wall,
I up with my stick and I knocked him down,
Then brought him back to Mitchelstown.
Mister Brown is a very fine man,
It was to him we brought the Wran,
You'll have luck throughout the year
If ya give us the price of a gallon o' beer.
Raise up your glasses, your bottles and cans
We toast your subscription to bury the Wran,
Up with the kettle and down with the pot,

Give us your money and let us be off!

If you subscribed to the Wrenboys they might give you a feather from the wren and you would have good luck for the coming year. If you refused to make a contribution they might bury the wren in your garden and you and your family would be cursed with bad luck for the following twelve months.