Top ten Irish superstitions for St. Patrick’s Day

Jay Sia | @irishcentral | March 14,2014

 

One for sorrow!

The Irish are a notoriously superstitious lot, especially during certain times of the year.
Here are the top ten best, ‘old’ superstitions.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

1. If a fisherman sees a red-haired lady he should not put out to sea because ill will befall him.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

2.   If you see only one magpie quickly look for the second.

“One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy.”

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

3.   To kill a robin is very bad luck as they were considered to be Jesus’ friends while on Earth.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

4.   The fairies will often take away an unattended child and leave a changeling in its place.
Yeats wrote the poem “Come Away O Human Child” along that theme.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

5.   Never skip giving money to a beggar as he will inflict the beggar man’s curse upon you.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

6.   On a leap year day, February 29, the woman must ask for the man’s hand or the marriage will be unhappy.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

7.   The wail of the banshee will be followed by a death in the family.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

8.   A fisherman must give back to the sea the first caught salmon of the year or he will only have bad luck.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

9. If you trip and fall in a graveyard you will most likely die by the end of the year.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

10. If you pass a funeral and don’t bless yourself, ill will befall you.