Celebrating Nollaig na mBan on the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry a winding down from the festive season.
Nollaig na mBan or Women's Christmas takes place on 6 January, the twelfth and final day of Christmas and the feast of the Epiphany in the Christian calendar. Traditionally this is the day when the women of Ireland have their chance to celebrate.
An early 19th century thatched cottage in the village of Castlegregory on the north side of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry has been home to five generations of the O'Shea family. The cottage, restored by Michael O'Shea and his wife the musician Máire Begley, is the venue for Nollaig na Mban on the Dingle Penninsula. There is music, dancing and singer Mary Lawless sings an energetic version of the song 'Eileen O’Grady’.
Today men have found their place in Nollaig na mBan but it was not always the case. Betty Fitzgerald remembers a time when men and children were banished from the house for Nollaig na mBan. This allowed the women to gather and,
Socialise and have their little bit of malt porter and have their chat and their gossip.
Máire Begley recalls men making sarcastic and derogatory comments about Nollaig na mBan such as,
Nollaig na Mban, Nollaig gan mhaith.
Máire Begley has vivid childhood memories of Nollaig na mBan but nowadays she tries to find new meaning in the occasion.
A ‘Nationwide' report broadcast on 8 January 1997. The presenter is Flor MacCarthy. The reporter is Tom McGuire.
