School: Cooneal (roll number 6416)

Location:
Coonealmore, Co. Mayo
Teacher:
Patrick Timbin
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0145, Page 178

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0145, Page 178

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  1. XML School: Cooneal
  2. XML Page 178
  3. XML “The Man that Rooted the Fort”

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  1. Long ago in a pretty little village near Killala, there lived a man named John Mooney and his wife and children, they had a comfortable house on a nice well kept farm. John was a very careful man and didn't let anything go to waste on the farm, on which was a fort. It was in the centre of a big grassy field and John foolishly enough thought it was spoiling the apperance of his field, and that it was a waste. So he began to root it up and draw away the stones to build a wall around another field. His neighbours told him not to do it as the old people in his day would never meddle with a fort, as it was supposed to be unlucky. John was a strong-willed man and took no notice of their advice, but levelled down the fort and drew away the stones to build the other wall. It was not long afterwards until misfortune befel him and his family. They all got sick and his wife died, and all his cattle died and he was reduced to pure poverty. He could not keep his farm, so it fell into the hands of complete strangers, and John had to tramp the roads for a living. John was a sorry man for not taking his good neighbours advice and it goes to show that we should not root
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    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Thomas Killeen
    Gender
    Male
    Informant
    Michael Killeen
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Carrowreagh, Co. Mayo