School: Bun an Fhionnghlaise (roll number 11454)
- Location:
- Bunnafinglas, Co. Mayo
- Teacher: P. Ó Maoláin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0127, Page 1
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“In olden times when the priests were not allowed to say mass in Ireland . . .”
In olden times when the priest's were not allowed to say mass in Ireland, a reward of five pounds was offered to anyone who could produce a priests head. At that time a robber named McManus on horseback chased a priest a long the banks of the Moy on the lands of Bonnifinglas. The horse suddenly leaped into a deep hole covered with weeds and grass and the robber and his horse were swallowed and from that day to this the hole is known as McManus's hole.About a half a mile from Bonnifinglas school there is a wood known as Poll a' Mhurdar. A the time when five pounds was the price of a priest's head a priest was caught saying mass on a stone in the place where the wood is now. The priest was murdered and his head was cut off on the stone. The blood is on the stone still, but it is covered over with moss and hard to find. So this is how the wood got its name as Poll a' Mhurdar meaning the hole of the murder.