Miners' Superstitions (Northern Ireland)

By R. Walker.

Among some of the most curious superstitions still existing to-day are those to be found in mining districts. In some districts, if a man stumbles on leaving the cage at the bottom of the shaft, it is considered a very bad omen, and he, and perhaps his mates, will at once return to the bank. When a new hand is taken on at a pit, he should never go down with the first shift. If he does he is asked to go up again and come down with the second or, more probably, is sent home till the next day.

In some pits it is the unwritten rule that the lamp must not be carried with the left hand - yet in others the left hand is preferred. It is considered unlucky to lose the card of rules issued to each man, and these pieces of pasteboard are often framed and hung in the cottages to ensure that they are safe.

A white cat walking along a street in a mining village is a sure forerunner of evil - so they believe - and it stands little chance of escaping should some of the mining lads get hold of it.

When a new seam or cutting is started, the first man who strikes his pick into the "face" of the coal is careful to tear a small piece of cloth from his clothing and leave it on the spot. A strange custom, this; one cannot help wondering how it first came about.

Shoud miners hear the crowing of a cock at a distance they regard it as a sure sign that some accident will happen in the workings. Strange noises and voices in the mine are often spoken of. The sound of singing is of good augury, but that of moaning is regarded as sinister. Should miners meet a woman with a squint when on their way to work, they regard it as a sign that some evil is on the way.

In many pits strangers visiting the workings are always accompanied by two of the miners in addition to an official. If this rule is broken, it is said, ill luck is sure to follow. One must never refer to the dangerous character of a miner's work when actually in the workings. Above the ground, however, one can speak of it quite freely without their regarding it as unlucky.

Belfast News-Letter, 4th September 1935.