_Sheilagh's Brush_

• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Subjects: English language > Dialects > Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/elrcdne/id/40219

sheila n Sheilagh's Brush. The day after St. Patrick's Day is usually stormy, and for a very good reason. My grandmother of Irish descent, has often said: "Well, dirty Sheilagh is at it again." This would be a rather wintry day, coming after St. Patrick's Day. According to her the story is that St. Patrick was travelling along a country road, leaning on his staff, and as the day was sunny, he became very thirsty. He went up to the door of an Irish cabin, where the housewife was washing a tub of dirty clothes. She was a rather cross and impatient woman, doing her work rather spitefully. St. Patrick said,"God bless you, my good woman. and would you kindly give a weary traveller a cool drink of water?" The woman, Sheilagh was her name, without turning around, made an angry movement.and taking a dirty ladle, she dipped into the tub of washing water, and said, "Here, if it's water you're after.take this, and don't bother me, I've got to get these clothes out of dry while it's sunny." [reverse] St.Patrick was so disapointed to be greeted so callously by a spiteful housewife, after working so hard to bring Christianity to Ireland that he said:" You'll never hand your clothes out to dry. in the sun today, my good woman", and he threw the dirty water she'd passed him into the air.and immediately a storm blew up, and so Sheilagh didn't get her clothes dry that day. Ever since then, my grandmother says, it has always been stormy the day after St. Patrick's Day because of dirty Sheilagh. DNE-cit DNE-cit Used I and Sup Used I and Sup 2 Not used sheelah, sheilagh, sheelagh, sheiler, Sheelah, BRUSH, PATRICK'S BRUSH, sheila, LINER, PATRICK'S BATCH, ~ BROOM/brush/day. NEWFOUNDLAND FOLKLORE SURVEY. Reverse of the card at S_15948.