Celtic Studies Course Union

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It’s #FolkloreFriday!

This week we look at Bewitched Butter as told by Miss Letitia MacLintock of County Donegal. Folklore surrounding cursed items, particularly milk, is a common theme. In Bewitched Butter, Mrs. Hanlon lets the neighbouring girl, Grace Dogherty, milk her Kerry cow. After letting Grace milk the cow, it is noted by the Hanlon family that the cow no longer offers a drop a milk. Only after boiling nine fresh iron nails in milk do they rid the community of Grace, who is confirmed to be a witch. You can find the entirety of the tale in Yeat’s Irish Fairy and Folk Tales which is available online here.

[photo: “A Western Irish Peasant Girl Churning’ from agaclar.net]