School: St Columba's, Cloonagh, Granard (roll number 12813)

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1. Story

   

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   Heard the following story from my grandfather Mr Patrik Dermody of Cloonagh, who is near 80 years of age.
   Long ago there lived an old blacksmith named John Dillon and he had a forge at the corner of the Dring road.
   Beside this forge there was a planting that belonged to the Dopping Heppenstals. The planting was cut down and it was said, there was an evil spirit settled in it, and after the planting was cut, the spirit used to go around the hill from nightfall to daybreak, roaring and shouting and he used to roar in at the blacksmith through the window of the forge.
   At first the blacksmith was terrified, and he used to leave the forge, because the spirit never came, only when he was alone. Some one told him to bring holy water into the forge and to sprinkle it around, when the uncanny noise began at the forge window.
   After a time the smith got accustomed to the antics of the ghost, and he was not afraid to remain in the forge, but when the shouting commenced at the window, he sprinkled the holy water all around the place, and he heard that spirits detest heated iron, so he used to redden a bar of iron and stick it out on the window. The spirit immediately left from the forge window, but continued roaring around the hill where the planting was cut until daybreak.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Mr Patrick Dermody

   Relation

   Grandparent

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   80

   Address

   Cloonagh, Co. Longford