Donal Hickey: Gorse was used for feed

Is there any month more welcome than May? Many people’s favourite month is upon us, with early morning birdsong, a profusion of flowers, pishogues and quaint old customs marking fertility and the coming of summer, writes Donal Hickey.

A huge bank of folklore and superstition surrounds May. Long ago, for instance, country people would pick primroses, gorse and hawthorn blossoms which they would place in bundles on doorposts to keep evil at bay.