School: Baile an Ghaorthaidh, Cluain Meala

Location:
Ballingeary East, Co. Tipperary
Teacher:
Seán Ó hAodha
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0569, Page 047

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0569, Page 047

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  1. XML School: Baile an Ghaorthaidh, Cluain Meala
  2. XML Page 047
  3. XML “Story - The Gobán Saor”

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  1. Story: THE GOBÁN SAOR
    Gobán Saor was a a very clever man. He was a great mason, and he could build houses, and castles that other masons could not build.
    Once an English Lord got him to build a castle. Gobán Saor made the castle so high, and so well, that there was not a castle like it in the whole of England. When the castle was built the English Lord did not want anyone else to have a castle like it, so he took away the scaffolding and left the Gobán Saor on the top of the castle, either to die with hunger, or else to fall down and get killed.
    A fool passed by the castle and the Gobán Saor shouted down, and asked him, how he could get down. The fool answered back, “How did you get up?”. Then the Gobán Saor thought of how he got up, stone by stone. Then he began to throw down the stones of the castle, and when he had all the stones thrown down he was on the ground again.
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)
        1. Gobán Saor (~181)
    Languages
    Irish
    English
    Informant
    Mr John Tierney
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Chamberlainstown, Co. Tipperary