'… sitting by the fire in a dimly lit house up the street, listening to the two ancient little Dooey sisters tell all sorts of scary tales of ghosts and mysterious happenings'

'… sitting by the fire in a dimly lit house up the street, listening to the two ancient little Dooey sisters tell all sorts of scary tales of ghosts and mysterious happenings'

Mary remembers Cloughmills' Fair and she describes this fair in terms of some well known Irish ballads and songs describing fairs. She also remembers how she used to read 'Kitty the Hare' magazine for young girls and how she listened to the local storytellers in the winter evenings.

Mary Dynan

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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Mary Dynan

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

Cloughmills, Co. Antrim

1940's

We had a song about Cloughmillss Fair. Delia Murphy sang it. I must confess it was not one of her better known renditions but we thought it was great to have her singing about Ballylig and the fair on the 9 June. It wasn't much of a fair, but we got out of school to go down to it and they had a couple of stalls selling the traditional dulse and yellow man and hard nuts. These delicacies are more normally associated with the Lammas Fair in Ballycastle.Did you treat your Mary Ann to some dulse and yellow man at the Oul Lammas Fair in Ballycastle - 0.I also thought that Delia Murphy's better known song also had local connections. There was a stone outside Dan Murphy's door out the Frocess road!O the songs that were sung in the days we were youngAt the stone outside Dan Murphy's doorI was an avid fan of 'Kitty the Hare'. I suppose I had to wait my turn to get a look at the 'Our Boys' - got out by the Irish Christian Brothers - I was only a girl! - but I enjoyed the monthly dose of mystery, and also enjoyed sitting by the fire in a dimly lit house up the street, listening to the two ancient little Dooey sisters tell all sorts of scary tales of ghosts and mysterious happenings that made you afraid to go home especially past a clump of trees. I was glad not to have to go past the Meeting House graveyard on the way home from those sessions. It was the epitome of scariness with tall black trees and looming shadows to be raced past with one's heart in one's mouth.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)