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06 Sept 2025

WATCH: May Day story features love, fairies, May Bush, the start of summer hurling

Bealtaine, or May Day, falls on 1 May and was an important festival in Ireland as it marked the start of summer and was a welcoming festival of flowers, dancing, bonfires and that start of summer hurling.

Many May Day traditions centred on protecting the family, the home, the herd, the churn and the diary yield.  Watch the video above to learn more about May Day customs with Clodagh Doyle, Keeper of the Irish Folklife Division at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life in Co Mayo.

 

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