School: Ballyduff B. N. School

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1. The Mermaid

   

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   About seventy years ago there was a boat out fishing in the west of Kerry, and one of the men saw the mermaid sitting up in a shelf of earth in the cliff and she combing her hair. When they stopped in the sea shore, this man did not delay but went back along the top of the cliff. When he saw her he stopped and stooped and crawled closer to where she was. She did not see him and he gave a good look at the comb with which she combed her hair. The comb was a lot different to what the people of the place used. It was made of strong fish ribs. He then made a drive at the mermaid and carried her cap[?]. Just as he was about to turn away she caught him, but he would not give her the cap unless she married him. At last she consented and they both got married but still he would not give her the cap. After a while they had two young sons, but still he would not give her the cap. He got afraid she might find the cap and that she would leave him so he decided to hide it in some place that she could not find it. After about twenty years she found the cap by one of her young sons and he gave it to her. She then changed the two sons into fish and then she threw the two fish into the sea and they disappeared. She then disappeared and the house in which her husband was living in was destroyed by a heavy flood and her husband

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)
         1. mermaids (~305)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Eddie Ross

   Gender

   Male

   Informant

   Jack Flynn

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   c. 65

   Address

   Keel, Co. Kerry