School: Knockaville (roll number 14185)
- Location:
- Knockaville, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: C. de Búrca
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0730, Page 352
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- (continued from previous page)wheat sprang up all in one night and was ripe and ready for cutting next day.On this next day the soldiers came by, the same way, on the search for him. There was a robin on a rob thorn bush in the wheat field and it saw the soldiers coming. It lay upon every drop of blood that marked Our Saviours track, and didn't leave a trace of it for the soldiers to follow which is the reason that from that day to this the robin has a read breast.
The captain of the soldiers asked the robin if it had seen a man passing that way lately. "Not" says the robin "since that wheat was sown". "At that rate" says the captain of the soldiers "were on the wrong track". He had his men turned and was marching away with them, when the wren comes flying up and says "the wheat was sown yesterday! The wheat was sown yesterday!" With that the soldiers were wheeled again, and away over the wheat field and never stopped till they came up with Our Saviour. From that day the wren was cursed, and ever since it has been hunted.
- Collector
- Michael Ennis
- Gender
- Male
- Informant
- Mrs Michael Gowran
- Relation
- Grandparent
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Knockaville, Co. Westmeath
