In the seventies and early eighties when I was young I remember an old man named Hurley known as the "Hedge Schoolmaster"
He was about 5ft 2 inches in height, clean shaven, had blue eyes and carried an unusually long walking stick for such a small gentle looking man.
He was well known to the natives and could call every one by his Christian name, and each answered in response "How are you Mr. Hurley". The master was a regular visitor to my father's house. He and my mother discussed many matters and we sometimes remained at the kitchen fire discussing the past principally in Irish though the master was a fluent English speaker too.
I welcomed his visits and I longed to listen to his stories about different parts of this country and they often took in adjoining counties.
So far "Hurley" was a normal man - nothing very different from other