I dreamt a dream the other night I couldn’t sleep a wink
Christy Moore, Delerium Tremens
The rats were tryin’ to count the sheep and I was tryin to get off the drink
There were footsteps in the parlour and voices on the stairs
I was climbin’ up the walls and movin’ round the chairs.
I looked out from under the blanket up at the fireplace.
The Pope and John F. Kennedy were starin’ in me face.
Suddenly it dawned at me I was getting the old D.T.s
When the Child o’ Prague began to dance around the mantlepiece.
The popularity of Child of Prague statues in Ireland largely occurred from the late 19th century, a period marked by a surge in Catholic piety and the mass production of religious artifacts. Icons such as statues, pictures and medals became affordable, and some were considered essential wedding gifts to bring luck and blessings to a new union.
Irish Catholic homes had a proliferation of holy objects, places and altars. There might be a holy water font in the hall, crucifixes in bedrooms or a holy shelf with pictures of particular saints, miraculous medals and small relics. The most prominence was given to framed prints of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady or the Holy Family.
When rural electrification took place in the 20th century, these were often illuminated by electric lamps fitted on the wall: the Sacred Heart would be given a red bulb, while Our Lady was given blue.
RTÉ article Why is the Child of Prague statue associated with Irish weddings and weather?
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