Little Christmas on Scattery Island

To mark the end of Christmas on the Island, Little Christmas was marked with a ceile at the schoolhouse. At 8.30pm Mikie Hehir played the concertina or Michael McMahon played the mouth organ. The most noteworthy of all, was John Kelly on the fiddle, who came from Rehy on the Kilcredaun penninsula. John spent Christmas holidays on Scattery Island with his cousins, the Brennans and in the summer would stay and help save the hay. He often brought his fiddle with him on these summer days and played at Ard na nAingeal or at Kitsy Scanlan’s house, where people would gather.

At the celebration of Little Christmas on the Island there would be dancing, the Caledonian set and old time waltzes, to the sound of the tin whistle, concertina, mouth organ and fiddle until 1.30am, when the teacher would call time.