School: Ballymore (B.) (roll number 7443)
- Location:
- Ballymore, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: P.J. Cooney
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0743, Page 303
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- XML School: Ballymore (B.)
- XML Page 303
- XML “A Strange Bird”
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- In Lunestown House, which is situated near the village of Loughnavally, a family named Kelly lived. They were aristocrats and lived there for some hundreds of years.
Before the last member of the family died a strange bird of beautiful plumage was said to haunt the woods in the neighbourhood. Every night he flew to Lochardstown, a mile or so distant where he chattered, and frightened the people in the neighbourhood.
An old man named John Cunningham went from Ballymore to see it. His daughter Mrs Seery lived in Lochardstown and the bird used to frequent the trees on his farm at night. John had been in Australia and was a keen student of bird life but he failed to recognise this creature.
Young Seery, his nephew brought forth his gun this night to shoot the bird but when he came to the tree, the bird began to scold him in such an eerie sort of way that he lost courage and went home.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Patrick Cooney
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 39
- Occupation
- Teacher
- Address
- Ballymore, Co. Westmeath
- Informant
- Mrs Maloney
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 70
- Address
- Ballymore, Co. Westmeath
