Blackthorn, Prunus spinosa (Latin) or Draighean (Irish) is a thorny, deciduous shrub or small tree, natively distributed across Europe, West Asia and North Africa, which has a long tradition of plant-human interactions in a folk medicine context. In the spirit of right relationship with the landscape and Blackthorn as an animate being, this paper will refer to plant relationships or practices rather than “uses.” Correspondingly, the name “Blackthorn” will be capitalised and subject pronoun references will employ the nongendered/expansive-gendered pronoun “they,” with the exception of direct quotes from external sources.[1] After a review of folk medicine concepts, an introduction to Blackthorn and a synopsis of international practices documented in historical texts, this paper will examine Irish folk medical relationships with Blackthorn through archival accounts,[2] ethnobotanical references and folkloristic analysis.
Folk medicine is often defined in contrast to allopathic or institutional medicine.[3] This practice obscures the complicated interactions between folk and institutional medical systems and the individuals that negotiate them; however, a working definition of folk medicine is “health traditions that exist alongside but at variance with whatever other medical system is recognised as ‘official’ in the local context” (Hufford 1997, 546). These vernacular beliefs and practices are developed in response to dis-ease within communities and integrate dealings with both the natural and supernatural environments. Folk medical practices are divided into material and magico-religious categories, though it is important to appreciate that they are generally utilised simultaneously. Material practice involves seeking direct remedies within the natural landscape of plants, animals and minerals, while magico-religious practices direct symbolic methods of treatment, through ritualised words or actions (Yoder 1972). An investigation of folk relationships with Blackthorn will elaborate these concepts.
From the family Rosaceae, Blackthorn has black-purple bark with irregular thorny branches. In the early spring, five-petaled, white flowers with many stamens appear before the single-lobed, serrated leaves develop. The fruits, known as sloes, are highly astringent, blue-black and cherry-like. They emerge in late summer or autumn and persist into the early winter. Their unpalatable flavour becomes tempered after several frosts (Woodville 1790-1794). Stones from the sloe fruits have been found in archaeological sites dating back to Viking-age Dublin and the properties of the Blackthorn have contributed to domestic plant-human relationships (Wyse Jackson 2014). According to Irish archaeologist A. T. Lucas, “a cut branch of blackthorn was used in some parts of Ireland as a simple harrow and dragged along the ground to remove the weeds in a field, or to help sow seeds” (Wyse Jackson 2014). The strong, hard wood can also be straightened and cured by interring the stick in a dung heap or storing it in an active chimney with a coat of butter. This process along with a naturally-occurring knob on sticks cut from the root, makes Blackthorn ideal for motility-aids in the form of sturdy walking sticks (Locke 2017). These tools, sometimes loaded with lead, can function as shillelaghs or bataí, fighting sticks which historically served in faction fights or as tools of resistance for a colonised people forbidden weapons by their oppressors (Moraghan 2020; Vaughn 2015). This practice persists with the Irish martial art of bataireacht. Historically, Blackthorn leaves were substituted for both black tea and tobacco when supplies were short (Vickery 2019). The most common domestic relationship with Blackthorn involves the laying of hedges, “[e]ffective barrier[s] against wildlife, farm animals, and enemies” (Vaughn 2015). The function of these impenetrable hedges sits in contradiction as they straddle the line between thresholds of protection or oppression, depending on position. During an Gorta Mór, starving citizens were barricaded from the English-owned farms they once inhabited, yet they foraged meagre sustenance, including bitter sloes, from the very borders that forbade them (Vaughn 2015). This dichotomous relationship is reflected in the folk beliefs surrounding Blackthorn, which will be discussed in relation to Blackthorn as medicine.
Historical texts document domestic and medicinal relationships with Blackthorn across Europe. Woodville’s “Medical Botany” from 1790-1794 observes practices dating back to the first century C.E. with Dioscorides. The text lists preparations from the fruit, flowers, bark and leaves, which tout astringent and purgative herbal actions for the treatment of diarrhoea, haemorrhaging and inflammation of the tonsils and uvulae. Woodville also records the manufacture of sloe wine and rose-coloured, sloe-based dye. These traditions are echoed by Hool in “Common Plants and Their Uses in Medicine” (1922). In “The Family Herbal,” Hill relates the juice of unripe sloes to the treatment of “fluxes of the belly.” He also documents methods of juice preservation, including boiling and drying. Extracts of dried juice were sold by pharmacists under the misconstrued name of “German acacia” (1812). Most thoroughly, Madaus outlines regional Blackthorn medicine throughout time in “Lehrbuch der Biologischen Heilmittel” (1938). In ancient Greece, thickened sloe juice eased dysentery and Blackthorn flowers and roots were remedies for undisclosed conditions. In the 16th and 17th centuries, under the obsolete name of Prunus silvestris, healers praised Blackthorn preparations in the care of menopausal fever (hot flashes), side stitches, heart and stomach pressures, stones, tooth and throat ulcers, uterine and rectal prolapse, eye inflammation or ulceration and excess hair growth. The onset of the 19th century recognised previously unmentioned herbal actions, including anthelmintic[4] and antinephritic[5] properties. Documented treatment of asthma also hints at potential antispasmodic action. In the 20th century, preparations of blood purifying[6] tea and homeopathic remedies are mentioned along with broad applications across respiratory, digestive, nephritic, cardiovascular and endocrine systems. Beyond these Eurocentric texts, it should be noted that historical medicinal relationships with Blackthorn are also known in West Asia and North Africa (Kültür 2007).
Archival and anecdotal relationships with Blackthorn are found within Irish folk medicine and material practices are stated for a variety of conditions. A decoction[7] of the sloes is mentioned in Cork for the healing of cramp or colic (NFC S 390: 279-281). A tea of Blackthorn flowers was imbibed over three mornings for constipation in Donegal (NFC S 1037: 113h). Worms in children were cured with a decoction of bark in Tipperary and ointments made from inner bark and butter were applied to warts or sore head[8][9] in Donegal and Meath respectively (NFC 571: 008; NFC S 1124: 295; NFC S 714: 217). Anthropologist, Anthony D. Buckley, records an “infusion[10] of sloe thorns” for the treatment of diarrhoea in Ulster and sloe gin was identified as beneficial for kidneys by Beatrice Maloney (1980; 1972). Veterinary folk medicine practices for domestic animals are also documented. Blackthorn was particularly identified in cures for cattle. Decoctions of bark or leafy branches were dosed alone or with milk and flour for the treatment of scour[11], timber tongue[12] and other undisclosed illnesses and injuries (NFC S 142: 250; NFC S 168: 246; NFC S 395: 323; NFC S 918: 177). The cure for timber tongue also described herbal hydrotherapy with steam from the decoction (NFC S 395: 323). These empirical folk medicine practices reinforce the herbal actions promoted in historical texts.
There are two archival references to an ointment or salve for sore eyes prepared with “a sort of moss” growing on or below a Blackthorn[13] (NFC S 228: 19; NFC S 800: 53). These accounts may refer to lichens, which tend to grow on Blackthorn branches, but it is unclear whether their medicinal value is believed to be inherent or due to their proximity to the Blackthorn, which would indicate a more symbolic association. Archival magico-religious cures in relationship with Blackthorn are prevalent and tend to involve sympathetic magic and/or transference. Sympathetic magic is a practice based on association or the idea that like produces like. This is achieved in one of two ways; either the law of similarity or the law of contagion. With the law of similarity, a change imposed on a symbolic object will enact change on that which it represents. The law of contagion occurs when “things which have once been in contact…continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed” (Frazer 1922, 11). Transference is the practice of healing a person of dis-ease by passing the illness to another animate being or object through direct or indirect association (Hand 1965). The law of similarity is demonstrated by a Kilkenny cure for a prod from a thorn. The inflicted person or their caregiver is advised to obtain a thorn from a Blackthorn tree and use it to make the sign of the cross over the wound (NFC S 847: 094-095). This ritual action is practiced with medicine that mirrors the original cause of the injury. Through a Roscommon ritual involving Blackthorn, a person may be imbued with a cure for burns by licking a Mankeeper. The newt is then hung on a Blackthorn to die (NFC S 233: 188). This correlation may be due to the orange stripe on the belly of a Mankeeper or the legendary association of salamanders with fire. Ideas of similarity and contagion are both at work in this procedure. Transference is displayed in magico-religious cures for styes and warts through the sacrifice of other small animals to the Blackthorn. A stye cure in Dublin involves pricking the stye with a thorn and then using the thorn to pierce a Snail. As the Snail withers, the stye fades away (NFC S 795: 126).
Within the School’s Collection of the National Folklore Collection, there are at least 34 geographically dispersed archival references for Blackthorn and Snail cures for warts with varying components.[14] The basic formula involves obtaining a Snail and impaling them on the Blackthorn to rot, thus withering the warts.
| Snail and Blackthorn Cures for Warts in the School’s Collection of the NFC | |||||
| NFC S | 94: 278 | Mayo | NFC S | 740: 436 | Westmeath |
| NFC S | 155: 020 | Sligo | NFC S | 747: 029-030 | Westmeath |
| NFC S | 159: 275 | Sligo | NFC S | 745: 214 | Westmeath |
| NFC S | 161: 172 | Sligo | NFC S | 752: 009 | Longford |
| NFC S | 168: 069 | Sligo | NFC S | 766: 227 | Longford |
| NFC S | 168: 191 | Sligo | NFC S | 771: 074 | Kildare |
| NFC S | 260: 122 | Roscommon | NFC S | 811: 062 | Offaly |
| NFC S | 266: 357 | Roscommon | NFC S | 820: 099 | Offaly |
| NFC S | 289: 168 | Cork | NFC S | 838: 098 | Laois |
| NFC S | 289: 174 | Cork | NFC S | 856: 017-018 | Kilkenny |
| NFC S | 520: 273-274 | Limerick | NFC S | 856: 161 | Kilkenny |
| NFC S | 607: 50 | Clare | NFC S | 919: 011 | Wicklow |
| NFC S | 607: 054 | Clare | NFC S | 923: 100 | Wicklow |
| NFC S | 616B: 15_034 | Clare | NFC S | 938: 237 | Monaghan |
| NFC S | 650: 157A | Waterford | NFC S | 950: 350 | Monaghan |
| NFC S | 719: 589 | Westmeath | NFC S | 970: 025 | Cavan |
| NFC S | 727: 025 | Westmeath | NFC S | 983: 002 | Cavan |
Fig. 1
Many accounts specify a black Snail, while there is only one mention of a white Snail (NFC S 719: 589). In a Christian context, black is generally associated with evil, while white animals are often allied with the Otherworld in an Irish folk belief context. This colour symbolism may play a role in these cures; however, the designation may only indicate the likelihood of meeting a particular colour Snail in the local landscape. Many treatments indicate the necessity of finding a Snail by chance, a common theme in Irish folk medicine (NFC S 168: 69). Others emphasise the importance of the Snail’s house or shell (NFC S 94: 278; NFC S 289: 168 & 175). The Doctrine of Signatures is a fairly universal practice of sympathetic magic that was recorded and popularised by Jakob Böhme in the 16th century. It posits that the characteristics, such as colour and shape, of a plant or other healing ally may indicate an affinity for certain body parts or conditions (De Cleene & Lejeune 2003). According to this principle, the bump of the Snail’s shell on their body emulates a wart on a finger. Direct contagion is instructed in several accounts where the warts are coated with the slime or blood of a Snail before spearing them on the Blackthorn (NFC S 520: 273-274; NFC S 650: 157A; NFC S 740: 436). Four cures substitute Worms, Frogs or Slugs for Snails (NFC S 24: 452; NFC S 450: 161; NFC S 727: 25; NFC S 727: 25), while some variations require additional ritual actions, like making the sign of the cross with the Snail (NFC 856: 161) or temporal requirements, as evidenced in the following two narratives:
“The cure of the Black Snail.
If you find a Black Snail without being actually looking for it and rub it on the wart saying in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost it is supposed to cure it in nine days if the snail is stuck on the thorn of a blackthorn and as the snail dies and withers away the wart will be seen to gradually disappear. This cure has been tried locally and has been successful. In one case it took the warts from a horse and in another case it cured the warts from the hands of Joseph Conlon of Lissakillen Glasson a boy in our class.”
NFC S 747: 29-30 – County Westmeath
“Warts:
They resorted to superstition here. They used to get a snail. The snail must be found by accident, otherwise it will [be] useless. They used to prick the snail three times with a blackthorn in the Sign of the Cross. This snail is to be used three nights one after the other. In the meantime if anyone else tried to cure warts with it both cures will fail.”
NFC S 820: 99 – County Offaly
All of these magico-religious rites involve “the performance of certain acts in a particular way to secure a definite result” (Ó Súilleabháin 1978, x). These beliefs and practices are accessible and provide a sense of control. They indicate a vernacular solution to the problem of dis-ease in cooperation with the landscape.
Before the introduction of institutional medicine, causes for dis-ease were attributed to interference by supernatural beings or human enemies, via magic or the evil eye[15] (Ó Súilleabháin 1978). These beliefs persist to some extent and can exist simultaneously with understandings of allopathic medicine. Folk medicine beliefs and practices must be appreciated within the context in which they are performed. These traditions are rooted in intergenerational knowledge, empirical practice and folk beliefs about Blackthorn. Vernacular relationships with Blackthorn are ambivalent due to the plant’s conflicting attributes of danger and protection.
Blackthorn is generally considered an unlucky plant or bad omen, whose branches should never be brought into the house (DeCleene & Lejeune 2003; MacCoitir 2015). In mythology, they have associations with darkness, the devil, the cycle of life and death and the Cailleach, another paradoxical figure, who brings on the start of winter by “strik[ing] the ground with her blackthorn staff” (Locke 2017, 17). Blackthorn is often identified as providing the crown of thorns worn by Christ at the crucifixion,[16] a connection that parallels the sacrificial nature of many cures (Vickery 1985). Fairy faith warns of interference by the leannán sídhe, who guard the Blackthorn and forbid “cut[ting] these bushes or injur[ing] them in any way, because anyone that ever interfered with one of these forts either lost his eye or the use of his arm and these calamities [are] well known” (NFC S 546: 82). These concerns were reinforced by the Bretha Comaithchesa,[17] which fined trespassers one heifer for cutting a Blackthorn (Kelly 2019; Zucchelli 2016). Disturbing a Blackthorn tree is particularly dangerous during liminal celebrations, when inimical beings are most present, yet relationships with them are emphasised at that time. Sloe gin is popular at Samhain (MacCoitir 2015) and a sloe was placed in early versions of barmbrack[18] in Roscommon to indicate the person, who would live the longest – “the fairies are supposed to blight the sloes…on November night, so this will be the last eatable sloe of the year” (Byrne 1907). Blackthorn often serves as a May bush on Bealtaine and may be seen woven into the top of a Hawthorn maypole (Locke 2017). A sibling plant to Hawthorn, the two plants in combination are considered particularly magical and may intensify the transitional ritual space.
In a protective context, Blackthorns are sometimes known to guard holy wells that provide cures to visiting pilgrims. These initiates leave offerings on the thorny branches (NFC S 442: 221; NFC S 865: 105). In the spring, Blackthorns protect baby chicks from predators and later provide adult birds with food when other sources are scarce (Locke 2017). One folk belief for the cause of warts is stealing eggs from the nest of a bird (NFC S 45: 197). A sacrifice to the protective Blackthorn seems apropos in this context. Blackthorn sticks are particularly known to provide protection against harm, making them an obvious choice for motility aids and weaponry for both resistance and general protection (MacCoitir 2015). Some areas of literature and folk belief exhibit more ambivalent attitudes toward Blackthorn. References in Gaelic poetry compare the colours of Blackthorn to the beauty of a woman with fair skin and dark hair, an image that can invoke both desire and danger (Tóibín 1967). As discussed above, Blackthorn hedges, which have historically defined the Irish landscape, can be equally protective or oppressive. This ambiguous dichotomy characterises vernacular interactions with Blackthorn.
Contemporary relationships are limited within institutional medicine, although the anti-oxidant properties of Blackthorn flowers and sloes are being explored for treatment of oxidative stress, cardiovascular dis-ease and cancer (Marchelak et al. 2017). Anti-bacterial actions of the sloes are also of interest, due to the rise of antibiotic resistance (Kotsou et al. 2023). Folk medicine practices with Blackthorn persist, including preparations that combine material heart-protective properties and sympathetic thorn medicine to provide cardiovascular support and a semi-permeable, spiritual-emotional barrier to internal and external trauma.[19] Blackthorn medicine also continues to be enjoyed through the production of sloe gin and jams (Wyse Jackson 2014). Folk beliefs, regarding Blackthorn endure through interaction with the landscape, local narratives and vernacular communication. There is great potential for further research in the area of Blackthorn narrative medicine,[20] including the symbolic/practical significance of thorny boundaries, relationships with the Cailleach/Bean Feasa archetypes and Blackthorn as a tool of resistance.
References
Buckley, Anthony D. (1980). Unofficial healing in Ulster, Ulster Folklife, 26: 15–34.
Byrne, Hugh James. 1907. “All Hallows Eve and Other Festivals in Connaught.” Folklore 18 (4): 437–39.
De Cleene, Marcel, and Marie Claire Lejeune. 2003. Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe. Ghent, Belgium: Man & Culture Publishers.
Frazer, James George. 1922. “Sympathetic Magic.” In The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, edited by James George Frazer, 11–48. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00400-3_3.
Hand, Wayland D. 1965. “The Magical Transference of Disease.” North Carolina Folklore 13: 83–109.
Hill, Sir John M.D. 1812. The Family Herbal. Suffolk: C. Brightly and Co., T. Kinnersly, and Bungay. https://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/hill/sloe.html.
Hool, Richard Lawrence. 1922. Common Plants and Their Uses in Medicine. Lancashire: National Association of Medical Herbalists. https://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/hool1922/dye.html.
Hufford, D. 1997. “Medicine, Folk.” In Green, T. (ed.) Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music and Art Volume II, edited by Thomas A. Green, 544-553. Santa Barbara: ABC CLIO Inc.
Kelly, Fergus. 1999. ‘Trees in Early Ireland’. Irish Forestry: Journal of the Society of Irish Foresters 56: 39–57.
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Locke, Tony. 2017. Tales of the Irish Hedgerows. Dublin: The History Press Ireland.
Mac Coitir, Niall, and Grania Langrishe. 2015. Ireland’s Trees: Myths, Legends and Folklore. Cork: The Collins Press.
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Maloney, Beatrice (1972). “Traditional herbal cures in County Cavan: part 1.” Ulster Folklife 18: 66–79.
Marchelak, Anna, Aleksandra Owczarek, Magdalena Matczak, Adam Pawlak, Joanna Kolodziejczyk-Czepas, Pawel Nowak, and Monika A. Olszewska. 2017. “Bioactivity Potential of Prunus Spinosa L. Flower Extracts: Phytochemical Profiling, Cellular Safety, Pro-Inflammatory Enzymes Inhibition and Protective Effects Against Oxidative Stress In Vitro.” Frontiers in Pharmacology 8. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.0068.
Moloney, Michael Francis. 1919. Irish Ethno-Botany and the Evolution of Medicine in Ireland. Dublin: M. H. Gill.
Moraghan, Sean. 2020. Days of the Blackthorn: Faction Fighters of Kerry. Cork: Mercier Press.
National Folklore Collection, School’s Collection (henceforth NFC S), 24: 452; Bean Uí Fhathaigh (43), Baile Chláir, County Galway. Collector: Corr an Droma Scoil, County Galway. Teacher: Breandán Ó Míodhcháin.
NFC S 45: 197; Collector: Eibhlín Ní Innse, Móta Ghráinne Óige Scoil, Couty Galway. Teacher: Eibhlís Ní Innse.
NFC S 94: 278; Tom Nally (55), parent, Knockbaun, County Mayo. Collector: Tommy Nally, Belcarra Buachaillí Scoil, County Mayo. Teacher: Seosamh Ó Heireamhóin.
NFC S 142: 250; Mrs Mc Donnell (63) and Mrs Meerin (80), Rathroe, County Mayo. Collector: Anne K. Carabine, Cill Phian Scoil, County Mayo. Teacher: Máire Ní Mhaoldhomhnaigh.
NFC S 155: 20; Collector: Beann Gulban Scoil, County Sligo. Teacher: Áine, Bean Mhic Giolla Mhártain.
NFC S 159: 275; Collector: Marion Johnston, An Mhódh-Scoil, County Sligo, 1937-1938. Teacher: Tomás Guy.
NFC S 161: 172; Collector: N. Mullaney, Scoil na mBráthar Sligeach, County Sligo. Teacher: An Br. Ó Cearbhaill.
NFC S 168: 069; T. Tiernan, Dromore West, County Sligo. Collector: Gort na Mara Scoil, County Sligo. Teacher: Bean Uí Ghathaigh.
NFC S 168: 191; Jane Calpin (62), farmer, Laragh, County Sligo and Mrs Caheny (73), Ballyfaris, County Sligo. Collectors: Brendan Keane and Maureen Marley, Cill Ruis Íochtair Scoil, County Sligo, 1934-38. Teacher: Toirdhealbhach Ó Catháin.
NFC S 168: 246; Beesy Furey (67), farmer, Laragh, County Sligo. Collector: Gort na Mara Scoil, County Sligo. Teacher: Bean Uí Ghathaigh.
NFC S 228: 019; Collector: Carraig Áluinn Scoil, County Leitrim, 1937-39. Teacher: Pádhraic Mag Uidhir.
NFC S 233: 188; Woodfield, Co. Roscommon. Collector: Joseph Martin, Páirc na Coille Scoil, County Roscommon. Teacher: Énrí Ó Maolagáin.
NFC S 260: 122; Mrs English, 87, Clooncah, County Roscommon. Collector: Radharc na Sionainne Scoil, County Roscommon, 1934-38.
NFC S 266: 357; Collector: Gleann Dubh Scoil, County Roscommon. Teacher: Tomás Ó Conchobhair.
NFC S 289: 168; Mrs E. Moynihan (55), Drishane, County Cork. Collector: Mary J. Moynihan, Dún Bhéacháin Scoil, County Cork. Teacher: Tomás Ó Foghlú.
NFC S 289: 174; Mrs Roycroft, 50, Dunbeacon, County Cork. Collector: Mary Roycroft, Dún Bhéacháin Scoil, County Cork. Teacher: Tomás Ó Foghlú.
NFC S 289: 175; Mrs Roycroft (50), Dunbeacon, County Cork. Collector: Mary J. Moynihan, Dún Bhéacháin Scoil, County Cork. Teacher: Tomás Ó Foghlú.
NFC S 390: 279-281; Florence Enright (74), soldier, Ringaskiddy, County Cork. Collector: Rosaleen McCarthy, Ringaskiddy School, County Cork, 1937-1938. Teacher: Pádraig Mac Suibhne.
NFC S 395: 323; Collector: Ballintotas Scoil, County Cork. Teacher: Tadhg Ó Coileáin.
NFC S 442: 221; Thomas Healy, 85, Listellick North, County Kerry. Collector: Listellick, Tráighlí Scoil, County Kerry, 1936-38. Teacher: Domhnall Ó Súilleabháin.
NFC S 450: 161; Mrs Mary Griffin (50), Knocknagashel, County Kerry. Collector: Mícheál P. Ó Murchadha, Leachtbhruadair Scoil, County Kerry, 1937. Teacher: Mícheál P. Ó Murchadha.
NFC S 520: 273-274; Collector: Scoil an Chlochair, County Limerick. Teacher: An tSr. Fionntán.
NFC S 546: 82; Mrs Fitzpatrick, Clonmore, County Tipperary. Collector: Teampoll Tuaithe Scoil, County Tipperary, 1938-39. Teacher: Seán Ó Meadhra.
NFC S 571: 008; Mrs P Kiely, native of County Waterford, Knocklofty, Clonmel, County Tipperary. Collector: An Ghráinseach, Cluain Meala Scoil, County Tipperary, 1937.
NFC S 607: 50; Tom Meere, 66, Kilmoraun, County Clare. Collector: Sylvie Barrett, Baile Aodha Scoil, County Clare, 1937-38. Teacher: Tomás Ó Mathúna.
NFC S 607: 54; Elizabeth Purtill (45), Teermaclane, County Clare. Collector: Patrick Purtill, Baile Aodha Scoil, County Clare, 1937-38. Teacher: Tomás Ó Mathúna.
NFC S 616B: 15_034; Rannagh East, County Clare. Collector: Máire Ní Colgan, Carron /Carthan School, County Clare. Teacher: Micheál Ó Muirthille.
NFC S 650: 157A; Collector: Paddy Mooney, An Chill, Dúngarbhán Scoil, County Waterford. Teacher: Tomás Breathnach.
NFC S 714: 217; Mrs Kate Doherty, 90, Mullagha, County Meath. Collector: Thomas Carty, Rathkenny School, County Meath, 1938. Teacher: Tomás Mac Cárthaigh.
NFC S 719: 589; Mrs Clinton, Gartlandstown, County Westmeath. Collector: Patrick Haughey, Faughalstown Scoil, County Westmeath, 1935-1938. Teacher: Bean Mhic Gabhann.
NFC S 727: 025; Collector: Raharney School, County Westmeath, 1938. Teacher: S. Ó Conmhidhe.
NFC S 740: 436; Kate Slevin (46), parent, Ballynacarrigy, County Westmeath. Collector: Ballynacargy Scoil, County Westmeath. Teacher: E. MacÓda.
NFC S 745: 214; Collector: Moate (2) Scoil, County Westmeath. Teachers: S. Ó Ruairc and L. Mac Coiligh.
NFC S 747: 029-030; Kilkenny West, County Westmeath. Collector: Lizzie Keegan, Tobberclair Scoil, County Westmeath. Teacher: Seán Ó Briain.
NFC S 752: 009; Conlon, parent, Ballymahon, County Longford. Collector: Mary Conlon, Mercy Convent, Baile Mathúna Scoil, County Longford. Teacher: Sr. M. Clement.
NFC S 766: 227; Collector: Ballinalee School, County Longford, 1934-39. Teacher: Ss. Ó Mainchín.
NFC S 771: 74; Tanderagee, County Kildare. Collector: Terence Grooms, Cadamstown School, County Kildare, 1938. Teacher: P. Mac Giolla Riabhaigh.
NFC S 795: 126; Mrs J Loughlin (40), domestic worker, Leinster Terrace, County Dublin. Collector: Cecilia Loughlin, Clondalkin School, County Dublin, 1937-38. Teacher: Sr. M. Kevin
NFC S 800: 053; Mrs William Donegan (50). Collector: Bracknagh Scoil, County Offaly, 1934-35. Teacher: S. Mac Giobúin.
NFC S 820: 099; Mr Patrick Cuddy, 50, Pollduff, County Offaly. Collector: Nora Cuddy, Longford, Kinnitty School, County Offaly, 1938.
NFC S 838: 98; Peggie Coonan, Drumagh, County Laois. Collector: Mary Kealy, Tolerton, Ballylickmoyler School, County Laois. Teacher: L. Ó Broin.
NFC S 847: 094-095; Bridget Doran (50). Collector: Patrick Galavan, Inistioge Scoil, County Kilkenny, 1937-38. Teacher: Risteárd Ó Cuirrín.
NFC S 856: 017-018; Mrs Walsh (42), parent, Birchfield, County Kilkenny. Collector: Sean Walsh, Naomh Pádraig Scoil, County Kilkenny, 1937-38. Teacher: Br. Seosamh Mac Aodhgáin.
NFC S 856: 161; Mrs Elizabeth Hayes, parent, Wolfe Tone Street, County Kilkenny. Collector: Paddy Hayes, Naomh Eoin Scoil, County Kilkenny, 1937-38. Teacher: Bráthair Tomás Mac Binéid.
NFC S 865: 105; Mrs Power, Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. Collector: Betty Quinn, Clochar na Toirbhirte, Caisleán an Chomair Scoil, County Kilkenny, 1938. Teacher: Na Mná Rialta.
NFC S 918: 177; Collector: Ballinacarrig, Rathdrum School, County Wicklow, 1937-38. Teacher: Bean Uí Dhubhghoill.
NFC S 919: 011; Thomas Donoghoe, Glasnarget North, County Wicklow. Collector: Thomas Monaghan, Rathdrum Scoil, County Wicklow. Teacher: S. Ó Muirgheasa.
NFC S 923: 100; Mrs Hannan (45), Shelton, County Wicklow. Collector: Jackie Hannan, Carysfort School, County Wicklow, 1938. Teacher: T. E. McAdoo.
NFC S 938: 237; Collector: Ballybay School, County Monaghan. Teacher: C. Mac Pártholáin.
NFC S 983: 002; Annie Luby (17), Drumhart, County Cavan. Collector: Bridie Luby, Portlongfield School, County Cavan, 1937. Teacher: S. Ní Chuilinn.
NFC S 950: 350; Collector: Drumacoon School, County Monaghan, 1937-38. Teacher: P. Ó Grianáin.
NFC S 970: 25; Mrs Morton, Derryvony, County Cavan. Collector: May Morton, Derryvoney School, County Cavan, 1938-39. Teacher: Máire Ní Néill.
NFC S 1037: 113h; Collector: Bridie Cassidy, Liagan Scoil, County Donegal, 1937-39. Teacher: Aodh Ó Gallchobhair.
NFC S 1124: 295; Collector: Sadie Mc Laughlin, Málainn Scoil, County Donegal, 1938. Teacher: Eilís Nic Uilcín.
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Wyse Jackson, Peter, Missouri Botanical Garden, and National Botanic Gardens (Ireland). 2014. Ireland’s Generous Nature: The Past and Present Uses of Wild Plants in Ireland. St. Louis, Missouri: Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
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[1] This practice will also be used for other beings.
[2] From the National Folklore Collection
[3] Other common terms, such as rational, scientific or conventional medicine either convey unnecessary value judgements or misconceptions.
[4] Anti-parasitic
[5] Acting against diseases of the kidneys (most likely diuretic action in the opinion of the author, a professional herbalist)
[6] alterative
[7] Preparation involving a long boil; usually refers to harder materials, like roots
[8] A severe form of eczema with weeping scabs
[9] This ointment is prepared in combination with Elder and Primrose
[10] A strong tea
[11] Diarrhoea
[12] Swelling of the mouth and tongue
[13] One account includes tobacco in the preparation
[14] See fig. 1
[15] Harm inflicted by looking on an animate being with envy or loathing; can be intentional or unintentional.
[16] Several plants have been implicated in this role.
[17] Brehon laws of the neighbourhood
[18] Barmbrack is a cake enjoyed at Samhain that is baked with a number of divinatory charms to indicate the future prospects of those who partake.
[19] Professional and empirical experience of the author
[20] Engaging story as a method of healing
Bridging Appalachia 
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