School: Skerdagh, Newport (roll number 3905)

Location:
Skerdagh Lower, Co. Mayo
Teacher:
James Deffely
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0086, Page 68

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0086, Page 68

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  3. XML “Divers' Fort”

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  1. 68
    Divers Fort
    There is a round fort in Jack Divers land in Lower Cloggernagh Glenhest, Newport, Mayo Parish of Lahardane. It is about 14 yards in diameter. It is surrounded by a ditch (a bank of clay and on the inside is a drain about three feet deep which is drained to the outside by a smaller drain. The ditch is broken down now but in former times it was about five feet high. On the north side of the fort on the inside of the ditch there is a blackthorn bush. Under this bush there is supposed to be a little room and in this room there is a press with pots of gold and there is said to be a serpent minding it. The serpent comes up through an underground from Beltra Lake to mind the gold. This drain is really there and connects the fort with the Brown Oak River which drains Beltra Lake Glenisland Castlebar Mayo to the sea at Newport. It enters the river somewhere between the present "wire bridge" and the Lake. In times gone by people often saw the serpent going up the lake by night. His body was as thick as the body of a cow and he was about 16 ft long A man saw him leaving the fort one morning. The serpent had to come up out of the ground to get to the drain. This man went home
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. genre
      1. belief (~391)
        1. folk belief (~2,535)
          1. treasure legends (~7,411)
    Language
    English