School: Curreeny, Dolla, Nenagh (roll number 16486)
- Location:
- Curreeny, Co. Tipperary
- Teacher: James Conlon
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0537, Page 015
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- XML “Nell Merritt”
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- It is believed that in the time of Cromwell Nell Merritt and her five sons were driven from their home in Ballycahill, Thurles and then they came to Curreeny. She had a hut near Curreeny school and a cleeve filled with hay was used, in the absence of a wooden door. Two of her sons were dumb. She had a few cows and used to pack her butter in firkins. One snowy night a member of the tramp class, happened to be passing by and seeing the hut, he decided to take shelter in it. After pushing in the cleeve, he saw the firkin of butter, and at once decided to take it. He went south in the direction of Barna which is a few miles south of Kilcommon. It seems that the breeze which was coming in the door wakened the mother and on missing the firkin she called her sons. Two of them tracked the robber in the snow and caught up to him at Barna. After taking the firkin from him they choked him and left the butter in an old cabin nearby for his waking.
