The Scaraveen is the time between April 15th and May 15th each year in Ireland, when the weather patterns on the west coast of Ireland are a little unpredictable, to say the least.
During this springtime period the weather in Ireland can be very changeable and temperature extremes can be experienced.
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The Scaraveen Tradition
There is a strong tradition of watching out for the Scaraveen in Munster, especially in the coastal areas of counties Cork, Kerry and Clare.
My granny from Skibbereen would often talk of the scaraveen around April, and as a child I had no notion what she was talking about. When I finally questioned her about this Irish weather term, she explained that the weather in spring is chaotic in Ireland, but it's Mother Nature's way of taking care of spring time plants, and hardening them up.
The scaraveen can bring unexpected warm spells of weather in springtime which promote plant growth.
Hail showers are frequent during the scaraveen, and these bursts of heavy rain with icy pellets are designed by Mother Nature to harden plants.
Blustery gales are also part and parcel of the scaraveen and their purpose is to distribute pollen and promote plant fertilization.
However, there can be many a frosty morning in late April or May that my granny blamed on the scaraveen. Late frost was the most feared aspect of the scaraveen, since freshly planted potatoes with budding stalks do not fare too well with exposure to a bout of hard frost.
Origins of the Term Scaraveen
"Scaraveen" is an English word derived from the original term in the Irish language.
It is the anglicized version of the old Irish phrase "garbhshíon na gcuach" (pronounced gar-iv-heen nah goo-uck).
This translates as the rough weather or time of the cuckoo. The month of May is ofter referred to as the rough month of the cuckoo by rural Irish people.
The Irish term garbhshíon was transformed initially into the term garaveen in English, and over time this eventually became scaraveen. This word is now part of what we call Hiberno English.
The Rough Month of the Cuckoo
The cuckoo arrives in Ireland at some time during the period of the scaraveens.
This small, solitary bird spends its winters in sub-Saharan Africa, but Ireland's shores beckon to it around early spring, where it's familiar call can be heard in the hedgerows.
The cuckoo does not build its own nest, but instead lays her eggs in the nest of another small bird. The mother cuckoo believes in fostering out her young.
When her chicks hatch, they usually eject the chicks that truly belong to the mother bird who owns the nest. The cuckoo chick deceives its foster mother into believing it rightfully belongs in the nest.
Old Irish folklore tells us "the Scaraveen" is Mother Nature's pay back for the cuckoo.
The cuckoo arrives in Ireland expecting warm spring weather, but as retribution for her sneaky ways of mothering, the cuckoo is not guaranteed mild weather, but is often greeted with frosty nights and sharp, freezing winds.
Cold, wet and truly miserable weather can often happen in Ireland during the time of the Scaraveen, and we can all blame the cuckoo for this unpredicatable weather.
Here's an old saying from the Irish language.
"Garbhshíon na gcuach is garbh í agus is fuar."
Listen to the pronunciation here...
Phonetic Pronunciation goes like this - gar-iv-heen nah goo-ock iss gar-iv eeh ah-gus iss foo-er.
This translates as:
"The rough weather of the cuckoo is sharp and cold."
The Irish are a superstitious race, and in rural Ireland the advice from our folklore is to stay out of the sea and avoid sea swimming until after the scaraveen has passed. Mother Nature could get you in the waves, as she calls for retribution on the cuckoo.
Another old saying confirms that May weather is not to be trusted. It goes like this, ‘cast not a clout ’till May is out’. In other words, keep your warm clothes on, until warm days are guaranteed in June.
Have you ever heard of the scaraveen or the rough month of the cuckoo? I look forward to reading your experiences of the scaraveen in the comment section below.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
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Nancy
A Blessed and Happy Easter to you and your family and friends. I look forward to receiving your emails. I love to read all your comments and explanations. They are always so interesting. I am looking forward to trying some of your soup recipes. The Dublin Coddle caught my eye.... Nancy
Irish American Mom
Hi Nancy - Lovely to hear you enjoy receiving my emails and updates about all things Irish and Irish American. Thanks for following along.
All the best, and happy Easter,
Mairéad
Maureen Madden
Happy Easter to you ! How I love all the great sayings and information you share with us. I hope you don't mind, but I share you all the time. God Bless you !!
Irish American Mom
Happy Easter to you too, Maureen. I'm delighted you enjoy my recipes and ramblings from Ireland. Thank you so much for sharing my blog posts. I really appreciate that. It's wonderful to have readers who spread the word about our little corner of the internet.
All the best,
Mairéad
Tim Carroll
Hello Mairéad,
I always enjoy your web pages.
Because of my Irish family connection, in 2019 I successfully applied for my Irish citizenship and passport. I have now a dual citizenship and am legally an Irish citizen but I have never been there.
My Grandfather was born in Dublin in 1893. He came over to Canada on the ss Empress of Ireland as a young man. He went back to Europe to fight in WW I where he was wounded and sent back again to Canada where he married and helped raise a large family of 5 children. He died in 1960 so I was quite young when he went. How I wish I could have asked him more about his past, a courageous youth escaping the slums of Dublin, leaving his family behind and coming to a new unknown frontier.
I was born and raised here in Canada and have enjoyed a good life here, but I have always yearned to visit the country of my ancestors. Your blog is a link to the place of my dreams and I look forward to every new post.
Happy Easter to you and yours... Timothy Carroll, London, Canada
Jim McGarity
How do one go about getting dual citizenship?
I keep hearing about it, maybe do an article on it Please
Irish American Mom
Hi Jim - Here's a link from the Irish Department of Justice where you will find the process explained.
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/dual-citizenship/
It definitely is a good topic for a future blog post.
All the best,
Mairéad
Irish American Mom
Hi Tim - Thank you for sharing your family story. It's lovely to hear you are an Irish citizen and feel such a deep connection to the land of your ancestors. They were incredible people, who endured much to give us the lives we enjoy today. I'm so glad you enjoy the snippets of Irish history I love to share, and that they help you to feel connected to Ireland.
All the best,
Mairéad
Linda Goodnight
I have never heard of Scaraveens or the interesting sayings and superstitions that go along with them. I was there once in May and yes, the weather was certainly fickle!
Irish American Mom
Hi Linda - I'm so glad this week's ramblings could introduce you to the scaraveens. The weather in Ireland is very changeable in spring. You can have all four seasons in one day.
All the best,
Mairéad
Terry M. Johnson
Ireland's Scaraveens is analogous to weather patterns this time of year in the PNW, IAM. We call it the "Puget Sound convergent zone": wind, rain, snow, sleet, hail, graupel. And most of the aforementioned seems to converge right over the roof of our house. TMJ
Irish American Mom
Hi Terry - Weather patterns are so similar between the Pacific Northwest and Ireland, you can truly appreciate what the scaraveen means. Where my mom is from on the west coast of Ireland the scarveen visited often, and my granny would declare that "the scaraveen is upon us." It sounds like the scaraveen has been upon your home too.
All the best,
Mairéad
Sara McLain
I loved this story of the Scaraveen, a term I have never heard before, in Ireland or out. It's fascinating! I've been in Ireland several time during the latter half of May and always found it quite sunny. I thought all of May was that way. We've never heard that descriptive word here in the States, but I assure you we have certainly been hit with weather changes of the Scaraveen this year as I've seldom see it. Seventy degrees one day only to wake up the next morning with 3 inches of snow. Most changeable! Easter Sunday was bright and sunny and full of blossoms. This afternoon fat goose feather flakes of snow came whirling down on us. Now we know what to call this strange, changeable time of year! Thanks for your lovely essays on the cultures of Ireland. They are always interesting to read.
All blessings from Sara McLain in Pennsylvania
Irish American Mom
Hi Sara - I'm so glad this week's rambling post could introduce you to the scaraveen. It sounds like you have lived through the scaraveen in Pennsylvania this Easter. Thanks for being such a loyal reader. I'm so glad you appreciate the bits and pieces about Ireland and the Irish that I share.
All the best,
Mairéad
Breda
This piece about the Scaraveen
( which I have never verbalized, written down, or thought of in 40 years +☺️😱😂) has certainly brought back memories of my mother using the word, ensuring we were still wearing vests (i.e. undershirts like Fruit of the Loom t-shirts sort of but I think there was a lot of wool fibres in them), wearing wooly hats as children too etc etc. I honestly thought it was a made up term she had but like everything else I’ve learned over the years that she was right about so much that I so cheekily dismissed🙄🙄.
I grew up in North Kerry and only a few miles from The Wild Atlantic Way so it makes sense that those chilly winds blew over the Cork & Kerry Mtns. I now live in Northern Alberta, Canada where I have learned to enjoy a winter wonderland with quite cold periods but I still miss a misty, rainy Irish Day and the rare time we get one here in Alberta I quite enjoy it and feel transported back home. And now that we are getting lots of wind as Spring is trying to emerge and we are eagerly awaiting new growth & warm days your article even makes sense for the climate I now live in and the changing of the seasons here.
But, yes a blast of the Scaraveen would send one indoors quickly to warm ones hands & behind in front of the nice warm turf fire (from the Stanley Range that we had in our kitchen).
I have resurrected a very old word back into my vocabulary that I may use with a few select people - thank you for bringing it back to me.
Breda
Irish American Mom
Hi Breda - I often wish that I had listened more closely to my grannies when I was younger. But as the saying goes, "hindsight is 20:20." The scaraveen was widely talked about in counties Cork and Kerry and it's lovely to hear that you experienced these old superstitions as a child. I remember those soft days in West Cork that you talk about here. I remember toasting myself by the range. My granny would set such a huge fire in the range, that you could hear the water in the cistern boiling. Thanks so much for following my recipes and ramblings.
All the best,
Mairéad
Sara McLain
That was such an interesting essay on the Scaraveens. I like the sound of that word. It's not a term we would have heard in Ohio where I grew up. But back then we were strongly cautioned about shedding our winter coats and long socks in April. It is a very changeable time. Just this April we've had several sunny days with the temps up to 80F (in PA where I live now) and next Tuesday we have a forecast of snow! I think Shakespeare described it well..."April is the cruelest month..." I never put away my winter coat nor the snow shovel that sits on the porch till nearly June. No sense tempting fate, eh?
Thank you for all your good sharing of Irish customs and words. I always read them.
Irish American Mom
Hi Sara - I'm so glad you found this post interesting. Irish weather is always unpredictable, but in April you can get sunshine, hail, rain or snow all in one day.
All the best,
Mairéad