Then & Now: Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched

MY FAMILY always kept a flock of hens, as well as ducks and geese when I was growing up. The hens were free-range, roaming around the yard and haggard's, but locked up at night from the roaming foxes.

I can still picture them when they were released in the mornings clucking with happiness and picking and pecking around the farmyard. They were fed with chicken meal and joined by some birds who flew down from the trees to join in the feast.

The fluffy young chicks were kept warm and fed until they were strong enough to be let outside with the older hens. My job was to collect the dandelion plants from around the haggard ditches and cut them up into small pieces to feed them.

The hens gave a constant supply of eggs, most of which were sold in the local shop each week to part pay the weekly shopping. Some of the chickens were kept for table use for special occasions.

Domestic chickens were once common in practically every farm in Ireland. A hen and chicks appeared on the old Irish penny coin (1929-1969), indicating the importance of the hen in Irish life.

Hens were not common here until the fourteenth century. They were usually allowed to roam where they wanted during the day. At night they were brought into the house, usually to the warm kitchen.

Many of the old kitchen dressers had a coop at the bottom where the hens roosted at night. Usually there was a perch for the cock on the wall near the door.

Symbol of St Peter, roosters were considered watchful protectors of humankind. Their crowing was believed to keep pookas and fairies away at night.

The hens, on the other hand, were not so brave. A March cock (Coileach Márta) was a cock that hatched in March from a cock and hen also hatched in March. It had certain powers and was particularly good at keeping the fairies away.

A cock crowing through a door or window gave a warning of a death in the family. If you were setting out on a journey and a crowing cock blocked your door, it was best to cancel the trip immediately.

The fairy people went about their business at night, and it was not safe to venture out until the cock crew in the morning and sent the fairies running.

To hear a cock crowing at night was considered unlucky, possibly of a death in the family.

There was a custom to respect the last sheaf of corn harvested. The custom varied greatly across the country.

In places, the grain from the last sheaf was fed to the chickens. The first rooster to eat grain (Coileach Mártan) was marked for the table on St Martin's Eve November 10.

There was a widely held belief across Ireland that St Martin had been betrayed by either a flock of geese or a black cock.

In revenge the blood of a goose or a black cock or white hen killed on St Martin's Eve, was sprinkled across the floor, threshold, and in some cases, the four corners of the house.

Hens that roosted in the morning were said to be foretelling a death in the family. A crowing hen, a whistling girl, and a black cat were considered very unlucky, particularly so in the house. On the odd occasion it was a hen (Cábún) it was considered that she was bewitched, and the bird was sold or killed as soon as possible.

(In most places a black cat was considered lucky).

For religious reasons, the consumption of meat or meat products was prohibited during Lent in olden times. This helped to develop the tradition of using up all excess eggs in advance, which in turn led to the tradition of Shrove Tuesday, when pancakes were eaten.

Eggs laid on Good Friday were considered blessed, and these marked with crosses, were cooked for breakfast on Easter Sunday. Eggshells were regarded as being the dwelling place of witches and fairies, as they were always crushed when the eggs were eaten.

There are many proverbs and sayings about hens and roosters: It's a bad hen that won't scratch herself, As restless as a hen on a griddle, As loud as a broody hen, As dirty as a hen house, To sell a hen on a rainy day-when she looks wet and bedraggled, It's a poor hen that will not provide for herself, Don't count your chickens before they are hatched, As the old cock crows, the young cock learns, Curses, like chickens come home to roost. The collective names for hens include a brood of hens, a clutch of chicks, a peep of chickens, a run of poultry.

It’s very rare to see household hens nowadays roaming around the yards of modern homes. They have become part of our disappearing landscape and consigned to history.

The Castlemahon and Kantoher Poultry factories which provided great employment in west Limerick are just memories for their workers from another place in time.

Drama season
We are now in the middle of the drama season which is very popular in Limerick at present. It is a custom associated with Lent in times past when no dances were allowed.

Drama groups and putting on plays in my area can be traced back to the 1940s, when neighbours and friends came together to perform in halls and venues around west Limerick.

The plays were written by the members, and they held their rehearsals in their own homes. Their transport at the time was an open top lorry which took them and their props to the venues.

How times have changed and now the acting and the sets are very professional. The numerous groups put on a great night’s entertainment for a reasonable admission fee. They also put on a night or two for their chosen charity which can make such a difference to them in this age of enforced fundraising.

The Granagh Players have performed The Hucklebuck by Jack Reardon, and the Canavour Players Brush with a Body by Maurice McLoughlin in recent weeks to great applause each night.

I enjoyed both and was disappointed to miss the Hillside Players Dying to Meet You by Ron Hutson in Ardpatrick as it was booked out.

We can look forward to many more productions in the coming weeks as communities come together to present theirs. Being part of a play generates a great buzz in all the members, be they on stage or behind the scenes.

It takes a lot of dedication, energy and commitment over a long period of time by all members to get a play ready for curtain up on opening night. I would recommend a night of drama to everybody, and they can be assured of a very enjoyable night out.