School: Slane (B.) (roll number 4851)
- Location:
- Slane, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Séamus Ó Cuánaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0713, Page 129
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- XML School: Slane (B.)
- XML Page 129
- XML “In the Penal Times”
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- In the penal timesAs far as it is known there is not very much history relating to the penal days. Around here the hunted priests continued to say mass without being discovered. Although the local history says they had several narrow escapes. One such story is told which had a very interesting sequel when the prosecution of priest was at its highest one of them came to say mass in a very private spot in the grounds of Slane Castle then and now the estate of the Marquiss of Conyngham.The priest had duly arrived and had taken of a meal in the house of a poor woman here, when a small boy ran in and said the hunters were after him,. The priest ran immediately (the boy showing him) into the avenue of Slane Castle and down for about a mile. The boy saw a number of men making hay on the lawn in front of Slane Castle he asked them to hide the priest somewhere as the hunters were not far away, as there was no shelter the only thing they could think of was to make him lie flat on the ground and cover him with the hay. As they were afraid he would be injured by the forks one of the men shouted to the others fork over fork boys meaning they were to tap the forkfulls of hay over(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Robert Tallon
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Slane, Co. Meath
