Every year on what others call St. Stephen's Day, others gather to celebrate the Wren's Day, or Lá an Dreoilín. The tradition, believed to originate in prehistoric times, involves the capture of a wren which is then placed upon a bush usually decorated with ribbons.
Usually dressed in straw outfits with masks and music, those partaking in the Wren are usually out for the day, going from house to house or pub to pub in groups. The roots of the celebration are thought to be pre-Christian and relevant to pagan customs.
Maireann an traidisiún go láidir i gCúige Mumhan, ach go háirithe i gCorcaigh agus in Iarthar Chiarraí, áit a mbíonn lá mór ceiliúrtha gach bliain suas agus síos sráideanna an Daingin.
Pascal Sheehy visits those on Lá an Dreoilín in Dingle, i gCorca Dhuibhne in 2016 where he describes the town breaking into four groups; The Green and Gold, Sráid Eoin, Goat's Street and The Quay.
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The participants, known as mummers, spend weeks preparing their costumes, traditionally from straw, for their big day out with their fellow mummers.
Dár ndóigh, cé go bhfuil go leor de thraidisiúin an Dreoilín imithe i léig sa tír seo, d'éirigh le muintir Chiarraí ach go háirithe i gCorca Dhuibhne, greim a choinneáil air agus tá iomaíocht ghéar idir rannpháirtithe na féile chomh maith le fiántas agus craic an tséasúir.
Téann Sláine Ní Chathalláin siar ar bhóithrín na smaointe i gclár faisnéise a rinne sí do RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta cúpla bliain ó shin le roinnt daoine, faoi Lá an Dreoilín agus cad a bhíodh ar bun acu ar an lá, le linn a n-óige.
Labhrann rannpháirtithe an chláir seo faoi na nósanna a bhíodh ann le hairgead a bhailiú mar nach raibh airgead flúirseach an t-am sin. Tá sin athraithe anois ach maireann an ceol, an comhluadar agus an t-ómós a thugar do 'rí na n-éan' go dtí an lá atá inniu ann.
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