In pictures: Folklore of local cures and remedies explored in Clonmany

In an event titled ‘Cures, Remedies and Old Wives Tales’, visitors were able to learn about the huge numbers of cures and treatments employed by local people in the past.

Historian and folklorist, Dessie McCallion, presented a very well-attended talk, hosted as part of Heritage Week 2024, on the first day of the event, where people learned how our ancestors treated a multitude of ailments including treating toothache by licking a frog, using goose fat to treat scalds, curing baldness by rubbing goats milk on your head under a full moon, sticking a fox’s tongue in your shoe to treat foot problems and any one of a dozen treatments to cure warts.

Dessie was also able to relate how women were relied upon to provide treatments and cures, mostly employing herbal cures, many of which may have been the basis of treatments available in the modern day.

The talk was supported by an exhibition of many of the plants used in our ancestors’ herbal medicine, and by group members providing some of the cures for people to sample. One of the most popular was the carageen moss, while the bogbine drink seemed to be a case of the cure being worse than the ailment.

Some of the other cures included faith healing and remedies provided by the fairies.

Another very popular and well attended talk was provided by genealogist, Eva Doherty Gremmert, who provided many useful insights for people exploring their family trees. Particularly useful was the advice on how people can incorporate their DNA results into furthering their family tree research. Some genealogists were available to provide hands-on help and advice, and their table was seldom idle.

Chairperson of the Clonmany Genealogy and Heritage Group, Marie Doherty, said she was very excited by the success of the event, and she looked forward to the next presentation which was already being planned. Marie thanked her hard-working Group for their efforts, and she also thanked the local community for their continued support. Marie paid a special word of thanks to Clonmany Community Centre staff who have provided unending assistance to the Group in their event planning.

Finally, Marie recorded her gratitude to the guest speakers who gave such interesting and entertaining presentations, and said she looked forward to welcoming them back in the not too distant future.

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