03/04/2026
April borrows weather from March
As we are into the last few days of March here is a tradition/story found all over Ireland and it goes by different names from the Borrowing Days, the Borrowed Days as well the Riabhóg Days and other variants of that.
We borrowed the tradition from our neighbours in England and Scotland as the belief/story was followed over there too and from what I believe (from going through the newspaper archives) was linked in with the calendar shift in the 1750s.
The general belief is that April borrows some days from March. Some people say 3 days, more 4 days, more 7 days, more 9 days and more 12 days. No right or wrong and I came across the 12 day version in St. Mary’s Bay in Newfoundland from a woman called Bride O’Rourke.
The general theory is the first few days April come with a warning and that they'd skin your cow (ie she'd get hammered by the wind, cold and bad weather if she was left out on the first days of April.)
I've recorded these stories all over Wexford, Mayo, Clare, Donegal and also Newfoundland and read loads of the stories in the English and Scottish archives.
In Ulster there are often referred to the days that would 'Skin Branny'. Branny is a word used for a cow in Scotland and the north of Ireland. In parts of Ireland and Newfoundland they are referred to them as The Old Cows Days and in Clare I heard it said these cold days killed ‘Mrs Brown’s Cow’.
It’s a great little story and you’d hope that April wouldn’t borrow too many days this year!
Text: Michael Fortune
