In an extract from her new book, Marion McGarry looks at important Irish summer dates from days gone by.
St. Swithin's Day
In the middle of July, the 15th to be precise occurs St Swithin’s Day. It is not a particularly Irish festival but on a small Atlantic island with an agricultural economy, the ever-changing weather is part of daily conversation. The weather was noted at this time as poor conditions could make a good or bad year for farmers.
“St Swithin’s day if it should rain
For forty days it will remain
St Swithin’s Day if it be fair
For forty days will rain no more”.
In the past, in a world without meteorological reports, people tried to predict the weather as best they could. At certain times of the year, the weather was observed for signs of what was to come, and sayings were developed to help mark weather changes. St Swithin’s Day was deemed important in predicting the weather. It was believed that if it rained on that day, then the following 40 days would also be wet. But if conditions were favorable, it would last for 40 days. The legend goes that the spirit of St Swithin, a humble man, was so outraged by the ostentatious funerary memorial erected in his honor that he made it rain so heavily until his followers took it down.
Although Swithin was an English saint, the custom was observed in Ireland and, for a time at least, was viewed as a sound way of predicting the weather, so the belief became firmly rooted. There were many weather signs to watch for, apart from the famous Swithin’s Day. Between Christmas and St Brigid’s Day, people expected the worst weather of the year. A mild February indicated a bad year of weather to come, and a lean harvest was expected if the cuckoo was heard while the trees were still bare of leaves.
“Red sky at night: shepherd’s delight;
Red sky in morning: shepherds’ warning”
This meant a pink (red) hued sunset heralded good weather the next day, whereas a pink-skied dawn signified rain. A ring around the moon indicated a coming storm. Swallows flying low were deemed a sign of rain. It was thought that seagulls flying inland signified storms. And when a cat ate grass, it might be a sign of rain. Rain, too, was predicted when cattle lay down in the fields or stood with their backs to the hedges.
Garland Sunday
July was known as the hungry month in Irish tradition. This lean period prior to the first potato harvest occurred over the six weeks between Midsummer and July. It was also known as ‘the bitter six weeks’ because food stocks were low. The previous year’s supply of potatoes was exhausted, as was flour, oatmeal, and other provisions.
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It seems our ancestors were permanently in hungry mode; when they were not waiting precariously for the harvest, they were fasting or forbidden by the church to eat meat. Thus, they were denied food in many ways throughout much of the year. Much of the rich, good food produced in the home was sold to others to bring money into the household, such as butter and eggs. People existed on very little in their diets: dull food and not much meat. So when a poor harvest occurred, or worse still, a famine, their health was in jeopardy. It was a hard, precarious existence. And there were many poor harvests and many famines – not just the Great Famine – that occurred throughout Irish history. But every summer, an annual and expected hunger occurred as people awaited the harvest; Hungry July was thus a miserable time when people waited for the ripening of the potato and other crops. It would end with the celebration of the first of the harvest, on Garland Sunday and Lughnasa.
But it was not all doom and gloom. The Irish calendar year was punctuated by feast days and seasonal markers that gave rise to celebrations and small festivities. People looked forward to ‘Hungry July’ coming to a close by celebrating what is commonly known today as Garland Sunday. Like most old Irish festivals, it has much older roots, dating back to the ancient festival of Lughnasa (named after the god Lugh). This is one of the four major seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Bealtaine.
It traditionally occurs on August 1 (Lá Lughnasa), however, over the years, the celebrations moved to the final Sunday in July, to allow laborers a day off during the busy harvest season. It marked the beginning of autumn.
There are many names throughout the country for this day: Reek Sunday, Sunday of the new potatoes, Lammas Sunday, Hill Sunday, Bilberry Sunday, to name a few.
In the past, Garland Sunday was a day for gathering outdoors, by lakesides or atop mountains, and many other sites across the country are associated with this day.
Today, it is an annual day of pilgrimage, most famous for the climb of Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo, known as Ireland’s holiest mountain. It is where St Patrick is said to have spent 40 days and nights fasting, and to honor him, pilgrims ascend the mountain on this day, praying for special intentions or as an act of penance. Many of them climb barefoot, performing circuits of certain sites on the mountain before attending Mass in a church on the summit.
* Taken from "Irish Customs and Rituals: How Our Ancestors Celebrated Life and the Seasons" by Marion McGarry. The newsletter CTA will be displayed here.
** Originally published in 2022, updated in July 2026.
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