School: Kilmore (roll number 16637)
- Location:
- Kilmore, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Máiréad, Bean Mhic Giolla Críost
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0254, Page 242
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- (continued from previous page)while she was milking. The maid told her a certain neighbour passed. Then the mistress believed that this neighbour had an "Evil Eye", and that she overlooked the cow. She then set to work to break the spell.
They invited this particular neighbour to the house and entertained her. During the entertainment the mistress managed to cut a piece of cloth from her dress secretly. When the woman went away the mistress and maid took the piece of cloth to the field and burned it under the cow's nose. Immediately the cow began to graze as the evil spell was broken.
Another cure for the "evil eye" was to burn the Alphabet under the animal's nose.
Sometimes the people who have an "Evil Eye" are quite unaware of it. Old people on this account would never let anybody say, "Oh, it's a lovely calf or cow" without immediately saying, "God Bless it."
- Collector
- Violet Notley
- Gender
- Female
