School: Druim (roll number 16557)
- Location:
- An Droim, Co. na Gaillimhe
- Teacher: Máiréad Ní Dhubháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0051, Page 0257
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- When I was a child, about ten or eleven years ago, I used to delight in listening to the old people telling stories, as they sat around the turf-fire on winter nights. These stories were often about travelling people who visited this district when they were children. These people heard these stories from their ancestors. The character I was most interested in was Anthony Raftery, who was the most renowned of Connaught's poets.
He was born in Killedan, a village of County Mayo. When he was only nine years of age, he contracted the disease of small pox, the result of which was, blindness for life. Some time later his parents died, and the poor boy was left desolate, without education without money and without any means of living. Some people say he had an extensive knowledge of the history of Eire. Whilst still young, he procured a fiddle, on which he learned to play some tunes. Although he never turned out a brilliant musician, he managed to earn a scanty livelihood by his playing. As well as being able to play on the fiddle, he had the gift of poetry, and composed many fine poems, chiefly about places he visited, and persons whom he was acquainted with, or whom(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Tess Rafferty
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 13
- Occupation
- Pupil
- Address
- An Learga, Co. na Gaillimhe
- Informant
- Pat Ryan
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 75
- Address
- An Cnoc Maol Thiar, Co. na Gaillimhe
