Ber Weyde

An attempt has been made to encompass all aspects of life in the Island but one may be led to think that the old body of tradition is more truly …

These two charms, the Crosh Bollan (fig. 1), and Thor’s Hammer (fig. 2), are of great antiquity, and the former is of particular interest in folk-lore, as it is not …

This photograph is of Mrs Mary Gilrea spinning outside her sod house on the East Nappin in Jurby on the Isle of Man in 1897. In the northern parishes where …

Almost every week (usually via facebook) I am asked for links to help people learn the language online so here are a few. Please add more if you know of …

Written on the back of this photograph it reads: “Sophy was a real character, I knew her well but can’t remember her surname. She looked after the chapel in Dalby …

The Ballaragh Spiral Stone, found by the old road through the Abbeylands of Lonan, has curved or spiral lines of much the same type as those on the group of …

On many of the quarterland farms on the Island, it was always the custom to provide hospitality, food and shelter for the wandering beggars who travelled about the roads; people …

Long centuries ago, when Manannan Mac Lir was ruling in Mann, and when his court was famous over all the world for brave warriors and wise men, Lugh of the …

A way back in the times long past there was a woman called Nan Quine living with her husband Tom, and their one child Paie, in a bit of a …

Every ditch had to be full of rain or snow on St Bridget’s Day so that the old Caillagh, or hag, could not gather brasnags or faggots (sticks) for firing. …

Seven hundred years ago and three added on to that, and on a midsummer day, Corna Dale lay bathed in the morning sun. The thunder storm of the previous night …

“O Manannan, Lord of the stormy headlands, Cast thy mantle over us now!” The above lines were perhaps a charm, or part of a charm, for invisibility or protection by …

Ay! the farmhouse is shuttered an’ empty, An’ the wans that lived theer is all gone; No smook from the chimley goes curlin’, For the days o’ that li’l crof’ …

The airs of two or three Manx songs have the name of being ‘fairy tunes’ which were overheard in lonely places, especially on the banks of streams. Other melodies from …

It was Midsummer Day, and the Peel Herring Fleet, with sails half set, was ready for sea. The men had their barley sown, and their potatoes down, and now their …

A recent ebay win has just arrived and it is much better than I thought being an actual bronze plaque awarded to Florence H Laughton, Hon. Secretary, 1912. I have …

My! My! But yer git some surprises! I was fair took aback, Mrs Gale! Theer’s me born an’ bred on the sod here – From the Lhen way we come …

The death of Magnus Olafsson in 1265 terminated for a long period the democratic freedom of the Manx people, a freedom which they had enjoyed for over three hundred years. …

As I went up the Lhergy Roie, Beyond the fields of Ballasayle The mist crept round me to destroy All landmarks with its blinding veil… Then, from a world that …

From Olafir Thick-Legged to Ragnar Fur-Pants, Viking nicknames were colourful, descriptive and fascinating. An American scholar, Dr Paul Peterson, did both his master’s thesis and his doctoral dissertation on old …

The various names under which Peel has passed are inseparable from the history of its castled and cathedralled islet, and their consideration must yield first place to matters of greater …

The Norse–Gaels were a people who dominated much of the Irish Sea region, including the Isle of Man and western Scotland for a part of the Middle Ages; they were …

The life of a clergyman’s wife two or three hundred years ago was somewhat circumscribed. Except for the occasions when she mounted a horse behind her husband to visit friends, …

White stones, ranging from the size of boys’ marbles up to that of small boulders, are plentiful in or on burial-places both ancient and recent. Almost every Manx tumulus excavated …

Water is round about us from our birth, Our heritage a strip of windy land Among wild seas; a word of misty earth Ringed round with blowing spray and dim, …

I would like to speak about the drine skeg or hawthorn hedge, which, although not recognised by law as a boundary hedge, is largely used to separate fields, especially in …

Cut by the light of the new moon by a young woman who said as a charm: “Good morra, green yarra, Good morra, green yarra, Good morra green yarra to …

I met a brown rabbit Today on the dunes When the curlews were piping Their queer, lonely tunes. He sat on his haunches As I came along, And watched while …

When Juan Quirk was a bit of a boy, nothing would do but his mother must tell him a story every night before he went to bed. And a special …

Is it yerself tha’s theer, Betsy? Lif’ up the latch wumman – an’ come in. Shut the dhure quick – for the fire’s smookin’ with the eas’ win’ An’ I’m …