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- Title
The girl was being carried up in the sky': Supernatural Legends Set at Midsummer in Ireland.
- Authors
Soverino, Tiziana
- Abstract
The Feast of St John or Midsummer, 24 June, is still celebrated in Ireland, in places as disparate as rural County Mayo and Cork city, chiefly with the lighting of bonfires on the previous evening.1 Since the Feast of St John was considered a liminal time, portals between worlds were said to be open then, albeit not as much as on other festivals, such as Hallowe'en. Surviving narratives about encounters with supernatural beings at Midsummer from late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury Ireland are the focus of the present paper. Although not numerous, such legends are nonetheless significant, since they reflect the tradition-bearers' worldviews at the time of collection. To be more precise, they counsel both respect of the supernatural and caution in dealing with strangers, especially at night around bonfires.
- Subjects
MAYO (Ireland : County); FASTS &; feasts; BONFIRES; HALLOWEEN; SUPERNATURAL
- Publication
Béascna, 2019, Vol 11, p45
- ISSN
1649-2137
- Publication type
Article