School: Ceathrú na Laithighe (Brownsgrove) (roll number 12138)

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1. Johnny Clarke

   

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   A well known beggar around this locality was Johnny Clarke whose parents came from Ballinrobe in County Mayo. His father and mother were also tinkers. But Johnny used to wander about the country by himself and from the age of ten or twelve years upwards he was never seen with his parents because when he was that age a man from near Dunmore wanted to adopt him and Johnny being unwilling to go ran off from his parents and was never seen with them afterwards.
   Johnny used to visit every house in this village about every three months or so. He used to want the people to buy ballads which he used to have stuffed into his pockets. Sometimes people would buy those but usually they would not and this used to make him very vexed and before he would leave the house he would curse the people of the house and all belonging to them.
   Johnny used to ask alms as well such as tea, sugar, flour, milk, bacon and butter and if he got a good deal of alms he would be well
   pleased even if they did not buy any ballads from him. Sometimes if it were near nightfall when he came he would ask lodgings for the night but usually he asked money to pay his lodgings in the town.
   He was a very good beggar and would not leave any house until he would get something from them even

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. people by social grouping
         1. travellers (~3,023)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Mc Gagh

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Beagh (Browne), Co. Galway

   Informant

   James Kennedy

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   77

   Address

   Beagh (Browne), Co. Galway