FOLLOWING our recent look at local mumming, we continue our examination of the ancient, enduring folk tradition, and some of the variations seen in local mummer groups and figures.
Past Christmases witnessed a mumming pageantry of drama, music, dance, song and poetry with mummers’ musicians, instruments, dancers, songsters and storytellers adding to the jollity of their nightly forays. 
Whereas blowing hunting horns announced the mummers’ arrival, the Maguiresbridge Hogmanay men simply used a hairy ned, roped belt with attached empty syrup tin cans, pierced with holes and partly filled with pebbles.
Monies scarce, the absence of musical instruments and a good musician was commonplace, so mummers created primitive sounds and rhythms such as ‘combing’ ¬– that is, by pressing lips onto brown paper, wrapped thinly around combs and blowing intensely.
Mouth music, either whistling or lilting, enabled dancing to take place. Lilting (diddling) was called ‘jaw music’, or ‘puss music’.
Mummers played one of the world’s oldest instruments, called the jaw’s/jew’s harp.
Also called ‘the trump’, the miniature jaw’s/jew’s harp produced a twang sound, which changed by altering the shape of the mouth and moving the tongue.
Another mouth instrument used by mummers was the harmonica, also called ‘the mouth organ’ or ‘French fiddle’. 
Another impoverished instrument in early mumming was spoons, which were played as a makeshift percussion instrument by hitting the concave backs of one tablespoon against the other.
Typically played with the palm of hands repeatedly moving down towards the knees and back upwards again, the spoons sharply hit each other, producing different sounds, rhythms and rattles.
Dry spare ribs (bones) of animals were used before the introduction of spoons produced a similar sound. 
In Ederney, the sole musician was a bagpiper lending a hand for the night.
During the coldness of mid-Winter, keeping the bagpipes warm until the “marching in” tune would be “struck up” was remedied by the bagpiper carrying a hot water bottle next to the skin of the pipes.
Once made from dogs’ skin, bodhrans ¬– as a home-made, open-ended, willow-framed drum – emerged from a farm sieve used in winnowing corn, and were extremely popular amongst mummers.
The bodhran’s deep, hollow sound was vulnerable to Winter weather, resulting in the goatskin or leather skin loosening.
Latterly, snare (kettle) drums with synthetic skins and tightening snares replaced bodhrans, providing a thundering warning of mummers approaching.
Mummers joined together to purchase a melodeon, thereby the name a “joined melodeon”.
Commonly called ‘the squeeze box’, music box, accordion or concertina, accordion players such Jim McGrath (Monea mummers) are called ‘box players’.
The Clarkes’ tin penny whistles and the music from the concert flute, by John Joe ‘The Puck’ Maguire, had the ear, hands and soul of his flute when playing for both the Aughakillymaude and Kinawley mummers.
Over time, instruments became personal possessions of the musician, as was the case with the fiddle of legendary Sean Dan Maguire, who played more than 70 years with mummers, strawboys and wrenboys.
Musicians often tried music out on the spot! They may have just heard a march tune just once or twice, but they would give it a go.
Gaining consent, mummers ‘ploughed’ into the heart of the household with a ‘Marching In’ tune, with the next interlude for music being the performance of a jig to coincide with the start of comical combat.
Protaganists – Prince Patrick and Prince George – instead of duelling, were ‘seamlessly seduced’ by music from the reel, and turned the combat on its head by jostling in a dancing motion, with the absurd clashing of wooden swords keeping time with the music.
With the fallen hero feigning death, the musician instinctively began a slow, melodic air (lament) conducive to his impending death.
Its purpose was to impinge sadness and, of necessity, was always a slow air born of mourning or regret.
The musicians’ opening for celebratory music came immediately post the odious fight, when dancers amongst the mummers would instinctively dance by the rendition of a reel with a ‘good lift’ in it!
Playing at a brisk, dance tempo, the dancers would rely on both keeping the time and in step with the rhythmic effect of the music for their foot movements.
Inspired by musicians who understood the dance styles, dancers would whirl the floor with precision and elegance.
Dancing in front of the hearth was revered by dancers, especially when it was customary to ‘pull out’, firstly, the women of the household for social interaction.
If neither residents nor mummers had dancing skills, mummers resorted to ‘shuffling’, often with cut sparable boots, armoured with tip and toe plates, i.e. a form of dancing on one spot, with feet kept close to the ground.
Mummers disported themselves by entertaining and involving everyone by getting their neighbours out dancing.
By having a set of slow waltz tunes, lasting longer than the play itself, this would wind up the visit.
The Belcoo mummers were unquestionably the traditional set dancers of high renown.
Staging either a half set (four hand dancers) or a full set (eight hand dancers), they danced with artistic interlacing and unwinding movements at very brisk speeds, to high-tempo reels.
Having just one good dancer, the musician would likely play a hornpipe to allow for a display of heavy step dancing, with either Harvey leather shoes or even hobnailed boots.
Mummers were known to throw matches onto concrete floors, where friction from the nails on boots struck the matches alight.
Mummers also put wax shaving of candles onto floor to ease and increase their whirling.
Sean-nós dancing was the showpiece of the Toura mummers, and twin brothers, Johnny and Paddy McGee, were foremost at exhibiting face dancing, such as the clap dance.
Sean-nós dances, such as the half-door dance, was performed either singularly or by the twin brothers on a space or floor covering no more than the size of a half door.
Undoubtedly, there was no better man at demonstrating the brush/broom dance with a besom broom than Dessie Reilly of Aughakillymaude. 
Ballyshannon school mummers’ group dance was the unique “pot stick dance”, originally from the Drumbad area (Belleek), which has the remnants of English Morris Dance influence.
The Ederney mummers showcased the Square Highland, involving four men at close quarters, as it didn’t take up much space in households, and didn’t involve swinging.
As a Highland was a fling, it lent to being performed quickly, enabling mummers to depart sooner.
The Fermanagh or Donegal Highlands variations were danced by just two dancers, and are heavily weighted with Scottish connotations.
The Highlands flings are referred to by Fermanagh’s dancers as ‘the Schottische’, or ‘Cetish’.
With larger venues, musicians playing North Kerry polkas and Fermanagh kick polka with two dancers – which allowed for swinging – had the musicians even imitating the dancers’ movements.
Notably, the jig for Christmas called ‘Paddy’s Return’ was played marking the returning of ex-pats from England.
After music, drama and dancing, a singer would sing a ballad of local significance, or a light-hearted yarn on people grappling with the frailties of the human body, matters of the heart, and life’s trials and tribulations.
Attention was also afforded to the storytelling narrative of mummers, where the farcical spinning out of a yarn brought much laughter.
Marking the end, a two-hand reel was played as the Captain led mummers outside, but unbeknownst and hidden underneath their ‘get-up’, mummers secretly had taken bread for pure devilment.