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Paper short abstract

This paper explores Irish fishermen’s superstitions about fish and the sea during Bealtaine, the Gaelic May festival marking summer’s start. Taking 1930s–40s folkloric accounts as a starting point, it examines rituals, proverbs, beliefs about fish and fishing, & their possible roots in older myths.

Paper long abstract

This paper focuses on Irish fishermen and their beliefs concerning the ocean, fishing, and, more broadly, fish during a specific time of the year: the Gaelic festival of Bealtaine, in early May. These beliefs reflected a heightened fear of the sea and, at the same time, gave rise to superstitions intended to counter those fears, protect fishermen, and instill a welcome sense of hope within the community. Fishing was regarded as especially dangerous on that day, and many communities refrained from going to sea, a fact attested by a variety of proverbs. In certain areas along the western coast of Ireland, boats were adorned with seaweed, rowan rods, or streamers as protective charms; moreover, numerous legends linked to Bealtaine and the ocean recount mystical apparitions such as horses, unknown beasts, mermaids, and even sailing rocks.

This study takes as its starting point the work of the Irish Folklore Commission in the 1930s and 1940s. Its aim is to document the superstitions connected to fish and the ocean, to examine the relationship between these beliefs and their seasonal practice, and to explore their potential origins—possibly in much older Irish myths or even pan-European traditions.