School: Ballycumber (C.)

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1. Fairy Forts (continued)

   

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   the owner of eight cows at the time and one by one they pined away. His widow who survived him was very much annoyed, and one evening when the last cow was almost dead she was sitting by the fire bewailing her misfortune when an old woman entered the house and enquired the cause of her distress.

   The woman was reluctant about telling her at first, but when pressed she told her story. The old woman then informed her that if she returned the stones taken from the Rath, her luck and her cows would return to her and when she would have this done she would return and give her further instructions.

   Next day the woman collected a few of her neighbours and got them to draw the stones back to the Rath and two evening later the old woman called again about night-fall and told her she was very glad she had done as she requested and all she need to now was to proceed the following morning to a certain (to a certain) field in the townland of Moorock about a half-mile away, before sunrise and there she would find her cows in good health and condition and to catch one of her cow's tails firmly and hold on to it no matter where the cow went.

   The woman did as she was told

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. place-space-environment
      1. legendary and spiritual places (~158)
         1. fairy forts (~5,616)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Maire Níc Giollarnat

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballycumber, Co. Offaly

   Informant

   John Nolan

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   34

   Address

   Ballycumber, Co. Offaly