In a Word … May

They have reverted to pagan ways in Ballaghaderreen. No sooner had the Catholic Church announced last month that it was taking Bishop Paul Dempsey to the arid mission fields of Dublin, never to be replaced, (they want our [Shannon] water, they take our bishops, where will it end?) than it was declared that Bealtaine, or the Mayday fair, will return to the town next Monday.

Bealtaine was one of the four great annual Celtic festivals — the others being Imbolc (Brigid’s Day), Lúnasa (August), and Samhain (Feast of All Saints/All Souls, Halloween).

You can see what our wily ancestors did there. They kept the old festivals but gave them Christian significance. Mayday became the Feast of St Joseph the Worker while the month was devoted to his wife, the Virgin Mary.

To be accurate, Mayday in Ballagh was one of the seven great fair days in the town going back to the 18th century. Yes, I remember them well from the old 20th century; the town full of people and cattle, with cowsh**e everywhere, its aroma wafting into the deepest crevices of every home. But, enough of the nostalgia!

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Next Monday’s revival will be a much more fragrant affair, with music, crafts, market stalls, food stalls, fair games, and a dog show. Local artists will perform and exhibit, with pop-up shops selling second-hand and vintage clothes, shoes, bags and books. All happening in The Shambles area of the town, which is not intended as a clue as to what might actually happen on the day.

At a pale imitation of the Mayday fair in the town more recently, following a lengthy all-night Australian Wake for a young couple heading to Sydney, a man — overwhelmed by the occasion and Jägerbombers (a potent drink not to be tried at home) — attempted to buy the young pair an ass (donkey) as a going-away present. He was deterred, eventually, by its owner (a rare example of seller beware).

This year the organisers’ intent is altogether more serious. A spokesperson noted that the fair “is such an important part of our history. We really want to keep that heritage, especially for future generations.”

Ballaghaderreen, too, abhors a vacuum. So, having lost a bishop, it is now a creature of the knight.

May, from Latin Majus, possibly after Maja, a Roman earth goddess.

inaword@irishtimes.com