Harvest is an important time of year right across the island of Ireland and marks the culmination of the agricultural season when crops cultivated throughout the year are finally ready for gathering and processing.

In pagan times, Harvest was a celebration and time to give thanks to nature as rural communities came together to gather crops and stock food for the upcoming winter months.  The spirit of cooperation and camaraderie was evident as neighbours supported one another in this labour-intensive process. There were always jobs to be done in the harvest season; vegetables and fruits to be picked, crops to be harvested, corn to be threshed and ground, flax to be pulled and food to be preserved in preparation for the long winter ahead. Harvest wasn’t only a time of hard work, it was also a joyous celebration of the abundance of nature. Rural communities came together during harvest to help each other gather crops and store them for the winter months and by the end of harvest, it’s a cause for celebration.

Celebrate Harvest and our close connection to the land at the Folk Museum. Explore our beautiful exhibit buildings decorated for harvest and learn about traditional harvest activities. Our visitor guides will be making potato bread and butter and our craft demonstrators will be busy on harvest activities. Take an autumnal walk through our woods and farmlands as you watch the season turn and the work of harvest unfold.

Join us in McCusker’s Pub for a drink and enjoy traditional music and dance from the Wren Boys in the diamond.

We’ll also be finishing a few harvest jobs like turning flax into fibre now the flax has been pulled. With the leftover straw, you can have a go at making harvest knots and straw ropes.

#europeanfolkday  #europeanfolkday2023