about five o'clock
A place is generally chosen where two or four roads meet , and the dancers come from the scattered farmhouses in every direction . In Ballyfuchsia , they dance on a flat piece of road under some fir-trees and larches , with stretches of mountain covered with yellow gorse or purple heather , and the quiet lakes lying in the distance . A message comes down to us at Ardnagreena -- where we commonly spend our Sunday afternoons -- that they expect a good dance , and the blind boy is coming to fiddle ; and ` so if you will be coming up , it 's welcome you 'll be . ' We join them about five o'clock -- passing , on our way , groups of ` boys ' of all ages from sixteen upwards , walking in twos and threes , and parties of three or four girls by themselves ; for it would not be etiquette for the boys and girls to walk together , such strictness is observed in these matters about here . When we reach the rendezvous we find quite a crowd of young men and maidens assembled ; the girls all at one side of the road , neatly dressed in dark skirts and light blouses , with the national woollen shawl over their heads . Two wide stone walls , or dykes , with turf on top , make capital seats , and the boys are at the opposite side , as custom demands . When a young man wants a partner , he steps across the road and asks a colleen , who lays aside her shawl , generally giving it to a younger sister to keep until the dance is over , when the girls go back to their own side of the road and put on their shawls again .