Blackcat(2)

I always heard that St Stephen, the first martyr of the Catholic church was successfully hiding from his pursuers in a bush but the flight of a frightened wren indicated where he was. He was subsequently captured and killed.

The tradition is to capture a wren on St Stephen's day (26th December) as a reminder of the first martyr.

The words of the song go something like:

The wren, the wren the king of all birds
St Stephen's day got caught in a furze...

Of course the "king of all birds" has nothing to do with its association to St Stephen.

Sin sceal eile (thats another story)

Paddy