School: Gort na Díogha (roll number 15587)
- Location:
- Gortnadeeve West, Co. Galway
- Teachers: Séamus Ó Dochartaigh Bean Uí Dhochartaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0016, Page 088
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- 'A Soldier's Trick'
In a barrack once there was an officer who used to miss things from his house day after day. His house was near the barrack only twenty or thirty yards from it. He was going out this evening quick on an errand from the barrack. He had to pass by his own house. The day was very warm and he left in a heavy overcoat to his own house. He found a soldiers jacket on the wall of his house. He said nothing but he took out his scissors and cut a bit out of the jacket so that he would know again when the soldiers were drilling which one of them was guilty. When the soldier got back to the barracks the other soldiers were in bed. He cut a bit out of ten or twelve of the jackets, and he also widen-ed the hole in his own, so that the piece the officer held would not corres-pond with his cut and then he went to bed. At nine oclock in the morning the officer called the soldiers to drill. They were drilling in the barrack yard when the officer saw all the cuts he couldn't tell which man was guilty and he just said. "The thing is done and done(continues on next page)
