School: Irishtown

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1. Local Heroes - A Good Runner

   

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   Local Heroes. A good runner
   One time there lived a man in this locality called Jim Scott. He was a very good runner. He was very fond of sports of every king. He had Father Matthew's pledge and he never broke it. The June races was coming off in Mullingar, and of course Jim wanted to be there. His mastet would not let him go until he had his day's work finished. Jim got up very early and went out to mow the meadow with is scythe. He had his day's work finished at 12 o clock. He went home and dressed himself and and ran to Mullingar a distance of 10 miles in less than an hour and was in time for the first race. He stood on the field all day. When he went home he went to bed. When he woke the next morning he was stone blind. He was then only twenty one years. He was a great basket maker and used to fork the hay up on to the haggard cock even when he was very old. He earned his living till he was unable but he never regained his sight. He lived in far in the fields alone, and he used cross ditches and hedges going to mass, to the village and to his neighbours houses to ramble by the aid of his stick

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. historical persons (~5,068)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Maureen Kelly

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Irishtown, Co. Westmeath

   Informant

   John Coloe

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   64

   Occupation

   Farm-labourer

   Address

   Piercetown, Co. Westmeath