Belturbet Convent of Mercy's Fair Day fun

The second annual fair day activities at the Convent of Mercy School in Belturbet last Thursday proved to be a wonderful success and it is a tribute to the entire school community. The enthusiasm of the pupils was palpable in the school yard as they mingled with animals of all descriptions. Phyllis Mulvanny was on hand to show the young people how to churn butter in the old fashioned way and shape the butter with the pallets. Butter could be turned out of the small churn within one hour and the larger tumbling churn in half an hour. When churning was going on in a house long ago, visitors had to take a turn at the churning for good luck, she told the young pupils. Derek Thornton from Derrylin was in attendance to illustrate the old-style bidding and the clapping of the hand to seal the deal and Stanley Morton was letting the young people in on the secret of the luck penny and why a deal often faltered over the luck penny. The principal of the Convent of Mercy in Belturbet, Brid Flynn, told The Anglo-Celt that this was the second annual fair day at the school and the pupils were really enthused by the novelty of it all. Years ago, a Fair Day used to take place in Belturbet on the Fair Green at this time of the year and the school would be closed for the duration of the fair. "We decided to re-enact it last year and it proved such an outstanding success, we decided to run it again this year. All the parents and the children are dressed up in the traditional styles of the time," said Ms. Flynn. She went on to point out that there was a huge range of artefacts on display from collectors in the Belturbet area including Edmund Woodhouse. He had a very rare heavy English coin from 1797 in display, which preceded the widespread minting of coins. "The children went out and spoke to their friends and neighbours in the countryside and interviewed the older people to ascertain what the artefacts were used for in former years," explained Ms. Flynn. There were goats, donkeys, sheep and fowl in the school yard and Seamus Shannon brought in a cow to show the pupils how the milking process operated in former days and that the milk does not just originate in a carton. Andy McEntee, a farrier from Kells, was on hand to showcase the wonderful skills of shoeing horses and Gemma Lawlor brought along her horse for the day. Garda Sean Dorris brought along his cob pony at the prompting of Rachel Brady. He said it was great to see the old traditions being rekindled to inform the young people and they can, in turn, pass them on to the next generation. It also affords young people an opportunity to get up close and personal with animals. Fintan Cox brought along a number of sheep and Francie McDonald brought along the goat and his daughter Sinead showed the other pupils how to milk the goat. Some of the pupils were delighted to explain all about their artefacts including Aoife Fitzpatrick, Eilish Dolan, Leah Smith, Aisling McPartland and Rebecca McGlynn. Mary Duffy was acting out the part of a granny and was showing the young people how to spin wool on a spinning wheel. She gave a talk on how the wool is transformed from the time it leaves the sheep until the knitting of a jumper. Music and singing was part and parcel of the old fair days and that is why they introduced a 'Trad for Trocaire' section at the fair this year. The staff and the pupils are big into traditional song and dance at the school. The Parents Association provided refreshments on the day and this including good old soda bread and traditional home made jams. The staff at the school, responsible for co-ordinating the fair day were: Brid Flynn, principal; Thelma Gilleran, deputy principal; Patricia Maguire and Evelyn Morton; learning support, Antoinette Drumm and Tara Brady; teachers, Fiona Cox, Sinead McKiernan, Kitty Tinneny, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Teresa White and Celine Clarke; special needs assistant, Mary Duffy; secretary, Grainne Dolan and caretaker, Mary Jo McKiernan.