School: Drumacoon (roll number 351)

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   Witches

   Here is a story my grandfather told me long ago. Whether it is true or not I don't know but I will tell it to you now as it was told to me.

   About ninety years ago there lived a man called Murray in the townland of Lisalea. There are Murrays there yet and I suppose they are descendants of his. He had a cow and every morning when he went to the field he saw a hare beside the cow. Soon the cow stopped giving milk and the man got suspicious of the hare. At last he took it into his head to kill the hare. He gathered a crowd of men with guns and hounds and surrounded the hare but she miraclously escaped. She was surrounded again and fired at but it seemed that lead would not kill her. That night the hare was seen in the field again. Next day the men surrounded the hare again but without success. When evening came the hare got tired the men got round her in a bog. Every man but one fired at her but she escaped. This man had quicksilver in his gun so he fired at her and broke her leg. There was a ring of whins near and inside the ring of whins was a ring of whitethorns and inside the whitethorns was a little house covered with the whitethorns. The wounded hare crawled into this. The men followed and found an old woman with her leg bleeding. They could not kill her because she was an old woman. A month later she died and a hundred black hounds were seen to go round the house three times and disappear. The cow then gave milk always and the man lived in peace ever after.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)
         1. hags (~139)
            1. hare-hag (~41)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   James Murray

   Relation

   Grandparent

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   93

   Address

   Lisalea, Co. Monaghan