Wren Day, Wrenboys, and HEART OF THE WREN

I’m going to be honest with you — before writing HEART OF THE WREN, I hadn’t heard of Wren Day. Despite growing up in a rural part of County Dublin (at least it was in the late 70s and 80s,) Wren Day wasn’t something I’d ever encountered. It had somehow flown entirely beneath my radar. Still, when I started gathering ideas for this book, Wrenboys were suddenly everywhere. They popped up on TV, they were mentioned in books, there were photos of them on social media… And, never one to ignore synchronicity, I leaned into it and started to do some research.

What’s HEART OF THE WREN about?

Heart of the Wren by Glenn Quigley

HEART OF THE WREN is a gay paranormal romance novel about a lonely gay farmer named Lorcan who digs up an ancient Celtic brooch and accidentally unleashes a sinister supernatural force. Help arrives in the form of a burly male witch named Dara. Set in 1980s Ireland, the two men must figure out a way to stop the strange and unsettling phenomena before Lorcan meets his final, horrible fate on Wren Day.

What is Wren Day?

Better known as St. Stephen’s Day, Wren Day is the 26th of December, the day after Christmas. In certain parts of Ireland (mainly the west, I believe, Kerry, Limerick, Galway, but also in Dingle), it’s a time when young people (not just boys, these days) dress up in straw costumes and go door to door, singing songs, playing instruments, and “demanding” money to “bury the wren.”

WB Yeats Wrenboys

“Hunting the wren” is an old midwinter tradition whose origins are lost to the mists of time. Men and boys would scour the hedgerows for a wren, the “king of all birds”, which they would kill. Whoever took the poor bird’s life would have good luck for the next year. The wren was placed inside a “wren bush” (a ball of holly, ivy, and ribbons) and tied to the top of a pole. The pole was decorated with ivy and ribbons and then carried from door to door. The Wrenboys, as they’re called, dressed in elaborate costumes made of straw (or sometimes just painted their faces), played music, sang, and demanded money to “bury the wren” (pronounced wran). This, like so many midwinter traditions, ensured prosperity for the coming year. The day’s celebrations ended with the wren being buried, sometimes in a little coffin, and sometimes even keened (keening is the vocal lament for the dead in Irish tradition).

In modern times, the wren hunt no longer takes place, but the Wren Day tradition lives on (or has been revived) with a fake wren in place of a dead one. Any money collected goes towards charitable causes or to a celebration for the town.

The Wrenboys sing a song at each house, and the lyrics vary from county to county, and sometimes from town to town. However, the first line is always the same:

The wren the wren the king of all birds
St Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze*
Her clothes were all torn- her shoes were all worn
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us a penny to bury the “wran”
If you haven’t a penny, a halfpenny will do
If you haven’t a halfpenny, God bless you!

The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0797, Page 44

*Furze is a bush also known as gorse and is very common in Ireland.

Now, for my story, HEART OF THE WREN, I combined several different versions of the song to come up with my own unique take on it. I also had to change the rhyming a little because the way we pronounce “wren” as “wran” made things a little complicated. Hopefully I can be forgiven for this!

The Wren Day song is similar to the one sung at Hallowe’en, though I’m uncertain how, exactly, they’re connected. Something to research at another time, perhaps.

Why is the wren called “the king of all birds?”

There’s a lovely bit of folklore about this, which I get into in the book.

The inspiration for HEART OF THE WREN

Last year, a group of gay authors decided to all release a series of standalone, own-voice, gay paranormal romance novels under the umbrella of HAUNTED HEARTS. My contribution was called Curse of the Stag’s Eye. The project was such a success that we decided to do it again this year, with even more authors involved. Last year, the theme was ghosts; this year it’s witches. And thus HAUNTED HEARTS: SEASON OF THE WITCH was born.

When I sat down to work on this year’s book, I didn’t know what the story was going to be. At all. I toyed with some ideas that had been rattling around in the back of my head for a while. I wrote them all down (I keep copious notes), but none of them really grabbed me until I started to notice a pattern. The one thing that kept popping up was the notion of setting this story in Ireland. Despite being Irish (born and raised in County Dublin), I hadn’t ever set a story here. So, with that as a starting point, I fumbled around for more details. The idea of setting it in the era of my childhood, the 1980s, appealed to me, so that became another element. Knowing the theme for this year’s Haunted Hearts was “witches”, it made sense to look into Irish mythology and folklore, something I’m interested in and have many books about.

At the time, I’d just re-read The Snow Spider, one of my favourite stories and the setting of a remote farm sounded right to me. So, a farmer on a remote farm encounters the supernatural and needs help from a witch. All of a sudden, I had the seed of a story. I worked out some ideas and came up with enough of a plot to get me started. Despite the amount of notes I take, I can’t remember exactly when the idea of tying this story to the Wren Day tradition came about. There’s something wonderfully pagan and mysterious about the appearance of the Wrenboys. After some more research, it became clear that my story needed to incorporate elements of Wren Day. Once I’d decided that, I was off to the races. I started properly writing this story in February 2024, and it was done by June 2024.

I was able to tie in other elements of Irish folklore in a way that makes sense for the story and shows the beauty of Irish mythology. I truly hope you enjoy reading about Lorcan and Dara, and though this is a standalone story, I wonder if you can spot the connections to last year’s Haunted Hearts book, Curse of the Stag’s Eye?

HEART OF THE WREN is available in ebook, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited from 3rd October 2025.


Haunted Hearts Season of the Witch

You can find the entire HAUNTED HEARTS: SEASON OF THE WITCH collection of standalone gay paranormal romance novels here:

Curse of the Stag’s Eye inspiration

A bearded man standing in front of a lighthouse. Curse of the Stag's Eye, Glenn Quigley, a Haunted Hearts book.

My new book, CURSE OF THE STAG’S EYE comes out on 4th October 2024. It’s a gay paranormal romance story set in a haunted lighthouse. I based the setting on South Stack Lighthouse in Wales and I thought I’d do a little blog post about my inspiration.

CURSE OF THE STAG’S EYE sees gay bear and paranormal enthusiast Rhys conducting his first-ever ghost tour. On the tour are ghost-hunting veteran Dawn, her boyfriend Nikesh, and first-timer Gaz, who intends to learn more about the paranormal, and about Rhys, for various reasons, not all of which are entirely innocent.

I am, as you can probably guess, a big fan of lighthouses and they crop up occasionally in my work (most notably in The Moth and Moon). When I was asked to be a part of the Haunted Hearts series, my mind naturally turned to a lighthouse as the perfect setting for a spooky romance.

Credit: https://www.visitanglesey.co.uk/en-gb/explore/south-stack-lighthouse

South Stack Lighthouse was built in 1809 on a small island off the northwest coast of Holy Island, Wales.

In my story, Stag’s Head Lighthouse was also built on a small island in Wales, although one shaped roughly like, wait for it, a stag’s head. Though one of the antlers has long since fallen into the sea.

In my story, in order to build the lighthouse the engineers wanted to move an ancient standing stone, one with a hole running through it. Locals referred to the stone as the Stag’s Eye and warned of terrible consequences should it ever be moved. But moved it was, to he carpark overlooking the island and the new lighthouse. And eve since then, the lighthouse and its keepers have had more than their fair share of bad luck and tragedy.

Credit: https://walesguidebook.com/things-to-do/anglesey/visit-south-stack-lighthouse/

There are 400 steps down to the island. One of my characters, Gaz, loudly complains about the amount of steps, having counted them all on the way down.


Credit: https://walesguidebook.com/things-to-do/anglesey/visit-south-stack-lighthouse/

A bridge connects to the island, just as in my story. This is the only lifeline, the only connection back to the mainland. Sure would be a shame if it were to suddenly disappear…

Credit: https://walesguidebook.com/things-to-do/anglesey/visit-south-stack-lighthouse/

Once on the island, visitors can view the engine room and exhibition.

In my story, the keepers’ cottages have been converted into a museum. It’s here that the characters first encounter some spooky events, such as disembodied voices, and mysterious footsteps on the gravel paths outside.

Credit: Wild Camper, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO80Kky9VLU

Stag’s Head Lighthouse is larger than South Stack, but both have a shaft running through the tower. This once held the weights and chains needed to turn the light.

South Stack Lighthouse is said to have its own ghost. During a storm Keeper John “Jack” Jones was killed when a was rock knocked loose from the cliff face and struck him on the head. His ghost is said to haunt the lighthouse to this day. A similar fate befell a keeper in my story, as the ghost tour will uncover.

You can read more about South Stack’s ghost over at Mysterious Britain.

Credit: Anglesey Isle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29T45InjD8

It’s hard to find a good image of the lamp room due to it being quite cramped. This is where a bit of creative licence comes into play, as in my story the lamp room has plenty of space and can easily accommodate the four adults on the ghost tour. And maybe even some unexpected visitors…

Over the course of a single night secrets are revealed, lies are uncovered, and bonds are forged as Rhys, Gaz, Dawn, and Nikesh race to discover the truth behind the CURSE OF THE STAG’S EYE.

CURSE OF THE STAG’S EYE is part of the Haunted Hearts MM paranormal romance series. All ten books are written by own voice authors and are stand-alone stories, but why not read them all?

Curse of the Stag’s Eye

Here is the teaser cover to my next novel, CURSE OF THE STAG’S EYE

ipad and paperback versions of Curse of the Stag's Eye by Glenn Quigley

The book will be available in eBook and paperback and is available to pre-order now!

High on a wave-dashed cliff, the ancient standing stone known as the Stag’s Eye jealously watches over a cursed lighthouse with a grisly past. Paranormal investigator Rhys has chosen this place to hold his first-ever ghost tour. Ghost-hunting veteran Dawn and her boyfriend Nikesh are eager to go exploring, while first-timer Gaz is hoping to learn more about the spirit world. He also intends to learn more about Rhys for various reasons, not all of which are entirely innocent.

The ghost of a murdered lighthouse keeper is said to climb the stairs every night, tending to the light, but other, far more sinister phantoms may lurk in the shadows. As the night wears on and the haunting becomes more and more hazardous, Rhys and Gaz grow closer. However, it soon becomes clear that not everyone on the tour is being honest about their reasons for being there. Can the supernatural activity be blamed on the curse of the Stag’s Eye or does someone know more than they’re letting on?

Curse of the Stag’s Eye is a part of the Haunted Hearts Series.

Haunted Hearts is an Own-Voices Paranormal Romance Series about love and the things go boo in the night. Join us on our romantic journeys over 10 books from some of your favorite authors! Be sure to read the entire series so you don’t miss a moment of falling in love, or sometimes falling into a happily ever after-life! Each book is a standalone but why not read them all? Everyone deserves the HEA!

You can pre-order CURSE OF THE STAG’S EYE and the entire HAUNTED HEARTS series right now.

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