School: Tiercahan

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1. Superstitions Still Alive in Tiercahan (continued)

   

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   People with the evil eye can take the butter from one churn and bring it to themselves. If butter does not come on the milk, then it has been taken by some one. Some people bring drops of milk in a bottle to have it blessed: the person with the evil eye cant take any more butter. Fr Pat O'Reilly P.P. Swanlinbar, put this down. He used to say there was no such thing as taking butter. People used to go and get the milk blessed by the priest and tell the cow was sick. That was just as good. No one takes the butter now, because the milk is all sent to the creamery and this is well, because when people were churning at home, they were always worrying over their butter.
   When the butter was ataking if salt was shaken under the churn, the butter could be kept safe.

   Joseph McGovern Drumbar aged 79 years told me this story.
   He had a very fine cow one time. She had more milk than three cows. She was beside the house one day and didn't a protestant woman get her eyes in the cow - a woman with the evil eye. Says she "That's a great looking cow" and never a "God bless her". That evening the cow began to roar and roar,and fail and fail till she was no better than any other cow in the heel end of the hunt. Every one knew this, and everyone was afraid of her - she is now dead and gone, this ten years.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Joseph Mc Govern

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   79

   Address

   Drumbar, Co. Cavan