Contents Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day Traditions |
Our Local History
February 1st, the feast of St. Brigid is a special time for many people, but even more so for those people of Tullyvinney who pride themselves as guardians of the ancient Holy Well dedicated to this great Saint. The Well had become neglected some years ago but in 1991 after tree months of voluntary work it was restored and made accessible to the public. Nowadays it is visited by hundreds of people all during the year but particularly on the feast of St. Brigid. The revival of the customs associated with St. Brigid and the restoration of the Well is credited to an essay written in the 1930's by Hannah Devenney when she was a pupil at Raphoe N.S. It is quite likely that Hannah's essay was one of many written as a part of Folklore Commission Collection at that time. During the years 1937 - 1938 the Folklore Commission implemented a nation-wide Folklore Collection programme through the National Schools of Ireland. Pupils were asked to record stories, prayers, songs and cures etc from the old people in their area. The three Schools in Raphoe contributed to the project. The following are some of the essays now in possession of the Department of Irish Folklore University College Dublin from whom permission must be granted before any of the works can be published.
A few of these pupils wrote numerous essays. This is just a sample of the many subjects covered. Some of the original copy books are still preserved in Dublin. Contact the County Library in Letterkenny if you require further information. Conor Porter
Pruning: If you haven't already done so, you should prune your fruit trees and bushes this month. Don't be afraid to cut back hard. Hard pruning rarely does any harm. Bear in mind that gooseberry bushes only bear fruit on two year old growth, so it's a good idea to prune half of them this year and the other half next year. Deciduous shrubs should also be cut back and also any ornamental trees that are getting out of hand except flowering cherries which are unusual in that they are best pruned in late summer. Evergreen shrubs and hedges are best pruned immediately after they flower. Those that don't flower can be pruned from April onwards. Leylandii hedges are best pruned in July. Resist the temptation to prune roses this month, leave them until March. You won't hear many lawnmowers in February, but if the weather is mild and the lawn is looking untidy , it won't do any harm to cut an inch higher than usual. It's too early to feed the grass yet, but if it's a bad colour you could apply sulphate of iron which will make the grass a darker green, literally within minute of being applied. Some seeds need to be sown this month, so decide that you're going to grow this year and get the seeds in good time. Most seeds are foil packed now so they will keep for months. We usually associate early sowing with flower seeds but some vegetables like Onions especially the relatively new red varieties need to be sown this month, to enable harvesting in August. Norman Holmes
Issue No. 3 out already and it only seems like yesterday since I was writing the Editorial for the January issue. There were not as many articles sent in for this, the February issue, so I hope that the articles that are in it will be of interest to you and that you will make good use of the Valentine suggestions and the Pancake recipe. Again I'd like to thank everyone who sent in articles, the deadline for the March issue is Friday the 27th of February and I hope you will enjoy this issue. Sharon Maye (Editor)
This month I thought I would give you some tips on taking care of your wardrobe: (1) Renovating Silk Sponge the garment gently all over with warm soap suds on a flat, hard surface. Then dry it thoroughly by rubbing it gently with a clean, soft cloth. Iron on the wrong side with the iron at its lowest heat setting. Alternatively, iron on the right side over tissue paper. (2) To clean white kid gloves Put the gloves on and sponge them with skimmed milk. Then lightly rub them with kitchen soap and sponge again with milk. Change the milk again as soon as it looks dirty. Finish off with a careful rinse in skimmed milk. Put the gloves to dry away from direct heat and sun, but before they are bone dry, gently stretch them in all directions. (3) Removal of stains Rub coffee stains with pure glycerine and then rinse in tepid water. Put a little salamoniac - obtainable from a chemist - on grass stains and then rinse at once with cold water. If you spill red wine on your clothes, immediately pour on some white wine. Leave for about a minute, then rinse in cold water. If the stains has dried and if the fabric will stand it, dip the spotted material in boiling milk. Rinse well with cold water.
I awake each morn, often before dawn, Try to stretch - then a big yawn!, Then I peep from under my sheet and lo and behold! My eyes meet a smiling face - a cup of tea - a well know voice says "It's only me", It's the call of the person whom God sent to keep me so cosy and quite content. Day wears on, bed made up so fresh. Can't answer natures call, I must confess But my angel is there to hear my cry and before very long I'm nice and dry, The radio is put on and later T.V. Shortens the day and entertains me, Dinner is served, tea, supper and then I'm tucked up to perfection again and again. My tablets given, to help me sleep During the night, I see someone peep, To make sure I'm warm and not afraid, Maybe dreaming I'm lost and need her aid, Then off she tiptoes to her bed again, Resting assured I'm not in pain, "Who's this angel?" I hear you say, MY CARER, God Bless her, My aid night and day. Kathleen Doherty
Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day Traditions Christians the world over still like to give up some favourite food or drink during the forty days of Lent. In the Middle Ages however they had to do much more than this, by rigidly abstaining form all meats, eggs and fats. On the Tuesday everybody prepared for Lent by confessing their sins and having them forgiven - shriven - as it was called then and this is how it became known as Shrove Tuesday. Immediately after confessions, all eggs and fats had to be got rid of before the next day, Ash Wednesday, and were used to make pancakes, large quantities of which were eaten in anticipation of the long hard "fast" until Easter. Pancakes of course can be eaten at any time. Various fillings are used, but they are best enjoyed when made in the simple way as they have always been made over many years.
7 heaped tablespoons plain flour Pinch of salt 2 eggs 3 cups of milk Oil for frying Pour flour and salt into a bowl, add the eggs and mix well. Add the milk as required and beat to make a smooth batter. Leave for an hour or so. Heat the frying pan until it is quite hot and grease with a teaspoon of oil. Cover the pan thinly with batter and fry quickly until set on top and brown underneath. Turn over and brown the other side which takes just few moments. Served on a warm plate with a squeeze of lemon and lightly dusted with caster sugar they are best eaten immediately.
Valentine's Day around the world All around the world there are many different ways in which people celebrate Valentine's Day; here are some of them. (1) In the United States and Canada the children exchange Valentines with their friends and in some of the schools they hold classroom parties when they put all their cards in a box which they have decorated and at the end of the day the teacher distributes them. (2) British children sing special Valentine's Day songs and in some areas of England people bake Valentine Buns with plums and raisins. (3) In Italy they hold a Valentine's Day Feast. The unmarried women get up before sunrise on Valentine's Day and they stand by their window, watching for hours waiting for a man to pass and the first man they see or someone who looks like the man they believe they will marry within a year. (4) In Denmark people send pressed white flowers called Snowdrops to their friends. Danish men also send a kind of Valentine called a gaekkebrev (joking letter) in which the sender writes a rhyme but does not sign his name instead he signs the Valentine with dots, one for each letter of his name, if the woman who gets it recognises his name, he rewards her with an Easter egg at Easter. As you can see there are some unusual ways of celebrating Valentine's Day rather than just sending a card!!
The first meeting of the New Year took place on Monday, January 12th. Congratulations were extended to Elizabeth Craig on becoming a grandmother again. A warm welcome was extended to a new member, Anna Meehan. The guest speaker for the evening was one of our guild members and National President Eva Coyle who gave a most interesting talk on her presidency to date. A vote of thanks to Eva was proposed by A. Starrett. The competition for a slice of home-made Christmas cake was won by Madge Alexander and Sylvia Bell was runner up. The next guild meeting will be on February 9th when our guest speaker will be Jane Bryce who will give a talk about her year as an exchange teacher in Australia, the competition will be a small hand crafted item. Sylvia Bell
Thinking Day is the day when we celebrate the birthdays of both Lord and Lady Baden-Powell and when we remember our Guiding sisters all around the world. It was Lord Baden-Powell who set up Scouts and it was his sister Lady Baden-Powell who formed Guides. The Thinking Day service this year takes place on Wednesday 25th February at 7.30 p.m. in St. Eunan's Cathedral, Raphoe. All the Guides, Scouts, Brownies, Cubs, Ladybirds and Beavers will be taking part in the service - doing prayers, readings and singing. The special guest speaker this year is Raymond Wilkinson form Monaghan who spent many years in Raphoe and was very committed to the Raphoe Scouts as a leader. We look forward to seeing Raymond again and to hearing what he has to say to us. Everyone is welcome to attend this service - wouldn't it be nice to see the Cathedral full on this occasion in support of all our young people and their dedicated leaders. C. Maye
There hasn't been much activity on the football front recently due to the bad weather, but considering the results we've been getting that wasn't such a bad thing. The Sunday team look certain now to be relegated (barring some miracle and we're always hopeful) but at least the Saturday team are doing well and remain in second place in the League. The Sunday team are looking to Sunday March 2nd as a day when they definitely will not lose. That's because the club's annual 10k fun walk will be held that day - starting at Friels at 2.30 p.m. Everybody is welcome to come along and if you feel like helping the club sponsor cards are available from Friels or from any club member. On the schoolboy front the club's U-16 are currently preparing for action in the league which will commence on February 14th. Younger players must wait a while longer but it is good to see that Scott Devenney and David Craig continue to do well at the Finn Harps School of Excellence. It is hoped that the coaching these two fine young players receive will be of benefit to the club in the league competitions in years to come. It is also great to note that following his goal scoring exploits in the Saturday league Jonathan Crossan has also been invited to the School of Excellence for the U-16 age group. Liam Porter
Ingredients: 4 egg whites 8 oz sugar 3 teaspoons Cornflower 1 ˝ teaspoons Vinegar Few drops of Vanilla Essence Method: Beat egg whites until stiff, add a little sugar at a time. Continue beating until stiff and flossy, beat in Cornflower, add Vinegar, Essence. Line Swiss roll tin with Bakewell Parchment, spoon meringue into tin. Even out, bake for 3/4 hours at 340°F, allow to cool in tin, turn out on to Greaseproof paper and remove Parchment Fill with: ˝ pt whipped cream 1 can crushed pineapple drained and roll over like a Swiss roll. Dribble with melted chocolate if desired. Jean Reynolds
Donegal IFA said the export refund increase of 6p/lb. on boneless male forequarter beef and changes to allow the sale of fillet beef on the internal EU market should add an immediate 2p to 3p/lb. to cattle prices, depending on market outlets at the meat factories. IFA called in the meat plants to pass back these benefits by immediately increasing producer prices. IFA said the refund increase and fillet beef changes, coupled with the tighter cattle supplies at farm level should see prices continuing to harden. IFA said cattle prices have strengthened throughout this week with 83/84 p/lb. widely available on a flat rate basis, and 85p/lb. for quality U-grade steers. The IFA said based on the continuing improvements in the Dollar and Sterling exchange rate against the Punt, and the export refund increase from the Green Pound and male forequarter refund together with the fillet beef development, prices should move up again next week by up to a further 3p/lb. Mark Crossan
Tony Connolly has a postcard 92 years old. It features Raphoe Castle in colour and it shows a section of the castle no longer in existence. The postcard was posted from Raphoe on the 12th October 1906. The stamp cost half a penny and bears the profile of King Edward VII. It is addressed with the following short message; "Dear T. Waiting for you to write, I am still at home, expect to hear from you soon. Yours Joe." I don't know if we will ever find out who Joe was, or if Teresa ever wrote back. It is possible that some of our readers might be able to help. Do you recognise the names? Could they be your ancestors? How does a postcard sent from Raphoe to Surrey over 90 years ago end up back in Raphoe again? Well that piece of mystery is solved as follows; The aforementioned Tony Connolly form McBride Street, Raphoe has a brother in law called Michael Doherty who lives near Fethard in County Tipperary. A couple of years ago Michael was visiting an antique shop in Clonmel when he spotted the postcard. It was the photograph of the Castle which caught his attention. As Michael is a Donegal man himself and a frequent visitor to Raphoe he is familiar with the Castle. So that's how the card arrived back in Raphoe, but how did the card get from Surrey to Clonmel? I hear you ask .............now that's still a mystery.
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