Care of Feet

transcribed at

The Care of Feet  [duchas:4599923]

According to accounts people in the district were often grown to manhood or woman hood, about thirty years ago, before they began to wear boots. Shoes (so-called) were not then in vogue.
At present children attending this school often go barefoot during the summer months, from the end of April till the end of September or even later if the weather is mild.
The writer has not been able to discover any customs or beliefs current locally connected with the water used for washing the feet, but in that connection has heard the following story from MR. Michael O' Donnell, Retired R.I.C. policeman, a native of the Spiddell locality, County Gatway.
A belief in that locality is that no one should throw out such water without saying the words "hugat, hugat, uisge na gcos" as a warning to the fairies who are waiting to enter the house when the people of the house retire.
On one occasion, three Spiddeal women sat up late to finish a piece of spinning and weaving. After five o' clock on a Saturday evening and after eleven o' clock on any other week night it is thought wrong to engage in the making of frieze.
As these women were in a hurry to have the frieze finished they sat up to eleven o' clock on a

The Care of Feet  [duchas:4599924]

certain Saturday night. While one spun the yarn another "carded" it and the third wove it into cloth.
After a while a knock was heard and in came a little humped fairy-woman with a spinning wheel. Without saying a word she started to spin. A second knock was heard and another fairy woman entered with a pair of "cards", and started to card the wool.
A third knock was heard and in came a fairy weaver with a loom, "the furthest tooth in his head he had it for a walking stick"
About five minutes to eleven o' clock the three fairy-workers had their work done while the three Spideal women sat speechless watching them. On finishing the work and having the frieze completed, one of the women took the brush and swept the hearth. They then warned the women never to leave the hearth unswept before retiring to bed. "Moreover," said one of the fairy-people, "before going to bed last night one of you threw out the foot-water without saying the words-"hugat, hugat " and there of our folk were found burned at the back door, this morning.
Ever after, the women never went to bed without sweeping the hearth and they

The Care of Feet  [duchas:4599925]

never threw out the foot-water without saying the words of warning to the fairies - "hugat, hugat "