Ancient Wren’s day tradition kept alive in Ireland

AN ancient Irish tradition is being kept alive and well in Dublin today.

Wren’s Day traditionally falls on the day after Christmas, which is known as St Stephen’s Day in Ireland.

The tradition sees people dress up in old clothes and paint their faces while parading through the streets singing, dancing and playing traditional music.

Mick Lacy taking part in the Wren Boys Festival

It all stems back to a time long ago in Ireland, where young boys and men known as ‘The Wren Boys’ would go out into the woods and hunt and kill a wren and then parade the dead bird through the streets while asking for donations to ‘bury the wren’.

Today the Wren Boys Festival took place at Sandymount Green in Dublin, honouring the ancient Irish tradition.

There is, of course, much speculation as to where it stems from.

Pictured dancing at the Wrenboys festival in Sandymount is Peter Haran

One story says that long ago there was a plan by Irish soldiers to ambush a Viking soldier camp and a whole bunch of wrens pecked on the Viking soldiers drums and woke them up just in time for the plan to fail. The Irish soldiers were defeated. From then on, the wren was known as the bird of the devil.

The poor little Wren is also blamed for the betraying the Christian martyr St. Stephen when was in hiding by making noises, hence the reason for hunting the Wren on St. Stephen’s Day.

Of course, the little wren was considered the ‘King of all birds’ in Celtic mythology, as it is said that the birds had a contest to see who could fly the highest.

The clever wren flew higher than the eagle by sitting on the eagles back as it soared high and then the wren could fly even higher when the eagle got tired.

So this custom of hunting the wren could also stem from Pagan times.