School: Birr (Mercy Convent)
- Location:
- Birr or Parsonstown, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: Sr. Flannan
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0821, Page 132
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- The following story was told by Jerry Bergin a workman in the employment of Pat Madden, Farmer, still living in Rathcabbin.There was a farmer once who went out to hunt. He shot a hare and brought it home. When he was preparing it for cooking there was a big darning needle stuck in his leg. He put it down and it was terrible hard to be cooked. Next day he went out. When he was passing over the hills he heard a voice saying "Where is the big needle, that was stuck in the leg of Martie's breeches". He went out yesterday and never came in. With that the hills opened and a huntsman came out with a big whip in his hand. He had also two dogs. He whipped all the hares that were in the field and whipped the farmer in as well. When they had entered into the hills, they closed up again. All the old horses and cows that had died for the hundreds of years before and all the delph that had been broken were there as good as ever. Next morning he was let off. He went back to his own house and the people in his house did not know him. He had been in the hills for 300 years.
- Informant
- Jerry Bergin
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Worker
- Address
- Rathcabban, Co. Tipperary
