School: Cromadh (B.)

On this page

1. (no title)

   “About the autumn of 1914 or else 1915, three brothers named Griffin of Chlorane, Manister Parish, aided by their dog, killed an otter on the Camog river, at the Sally bed.”

   

   Share Share Post

   About the autumn of 1914, three brothers named Griffin of Chlorane, Manister Parish aided by their dog, killed an otter on the Camog river at the Sally bed. ( This place is not improbably the site of the old plow-land of Manister Abbey called Gort an tSailigh. It is within the present parish of Manister ) The otter weighed either fifty-five or fifty seven pounds. Jack Griffin, my informant recalls the weight by being uncertain as to whether a one-pound weight was put on the scale pan with a half-hundred weight to balance the otter or whether it was put in with the otter to counter balance the half-hundred weight. Mr Creed of Bruff weighed the otter and had it on show for two or three days. A number of people visited his place to view the monster. It mush have approached the record in weight. They have no idea as to its length or girth, but say "it was more like a fat pig in size, than an otter". I record the event solely because of the unusual weight of the amphibian and because I had the impression that a forty-pound otter was an extremely large one.

   Two that have been taken - by ML Roche, Ballynahown, Croom, within the last two months, to be precise in September 1935, weighed 27 and 28 pounds respectively, the heavier one having an over-all length of forty-nine inches. I had it in the school for a lesson for the boys, and the presence of the dead dobhar chu or madra uisge was a source of extraordinary interest for the lads

   
   19/11/1935

   D'éag Captaoin Ua Liatháin, Tigh Chroma, indiu. Bhí tagairt dhá threibh i gCuid II )

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. animal-lore (~1,185)

   Language

   English