SCHOOL: Béal Cláir (B) | ADDRESS: Belclare, Co. Galway
There are many people who have cures for diseases.
It is said that if there are seven boys born after another in a family that the seventh has a cure for boils, if he measures the boil with a ring three times and the boil will be cured.
The person who was born after the death of his father has a cure in his mouth. For a sore mouth he blows three times in the mouth and cures it.
When people have toothache to put a frog in their mouth and lick it the toothache will be cured.
If a person had warts on his hand and if he rubs a snail on the warts and if he puts a thorn through the snail and then hangs the snail on a bush. While the snail is withering away the warts will wither off the hand.
There is a cure in a dog’s tongue for a sore on the foot or the hand.
If a cat scraped a child’s hand or foot a few hairs are pulled of the cats back and left on the sore hand until the blood is all soaked and in a short time the sore is cured.
There is another cure in goat’s milk for the chin-cough.
It is said that if a man with a pure white horse was met on the road and if he was asked for a cure for the chin-cough and no matter what cure he would give the chin-cough would be cured.
If a person had warts and put a grey horse’s hair to them they would be cured.
Sometimes people used to put the juice of a raw potato to them or leave a snail on them to cure them.
If a person had Rheumatism he would be cured if he carried a raw potato in his two pockets for three days and three nights.
Toothache: Go to a blacksmith and ask him to make a nail for you in the honour of God.
Drive the nail into a tree that no branch has ever broken off and you will never get toothache again.
Warts: Pull a rib out of a grey horse and leave it across the warts.
Take a piece of meat and bury it in the earth and as the meat is getting rotten, the warts will be getting rotten too.
If you meet a stone which holds water, spill the water on the warts and say “It isin’t looking for you i came but to take these warts away.”
Boils: In a house where there would be seven sons the seventh son can cure boils by rubbing his hand three times on them saying ” In the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Wild-fire: A person who never saw his father can cure wild-fire.
Go to him two Fridays and a Monday between them and he will breathe three times into your mouth saying: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”
Rheumatism Old people say that a dandelion is a cure for Rheumatism to boil it and drink the substance.
Gland. If a person has a gland in his face, and to drink goat’s milk it would be cured.
Chincough The soup of a hedge hog is a cure for chin cough
Delicatness There is a cure in ass’s milk for delicate people
Cuts If a person got a cut from a rusty nail throw the nail in the fire the cut would be cured.
Bibliography
“The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0027, Page 0401” by Dúchas © National Folklore Collection, UCD is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.