Feakle is my townland. it is a small village situated in the east of County Clare. It consists at the present day of forty six houses, five of which are thatched, and the remainder slated, and its population lies between a hundred and fifty and two hundred people.
About a century ago this village was entirely different. at the eastern side of the village there is a beautiful Catholic Church which was built in the year 1826, but it was not the original one built in Feakle. The first church was built at the western side of the village, where the Doctor's house now stands. It was built in the year 1820. The Parish Priest of it lived, where John Canny is living now, a little distance outside the village.The present church was built by Father Mc Inerney who lived in a room at the back of Jerry Moloney's house, which stands on the hills at the back of the village,and that room is still preserved. The old bell in Feakle chapel was considered to be the best bell in the diocese of Killaloe , because Father McInerney went up to Dublin while the bell was being manufactured, and threw a bag of silver into its mixture. This was supposed to have given it a clear toll. In the days of O'Connell the first meeting ever held in favour of Catholic Emancipation was held in Feakle

When the black and tans came over to Ireland. They burned many houses in this parish such as Pat Holohans and Peter Mac Arthurs in Knockbeha and Tom Moloney's in Feakle. They also ordered John O'Mara's house but an old peeler told them not. Why they burned these houses in revenge because the rebels took an active part in the rising and the owners gave them food and Danny Mc Namaras house in Feakle was burned also.

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Old schools.
Long ago the children were taught in schools which were far different from those of to-day. About 90 years ago they had no schools only barns ,and all the children would gather together .Schools used be held in farmer's houses and all the children of the locality would assemble there, and pay a teacher to teach them.
They used have a school in Johny Rochfords' Knockbeha ,Flagmount, Feakle,Co Clare and also at Frank Kiely's Knockbeha ,Flagmount, Feakle ,Co Clare and at Dan Moloney's Knockbeha ,Flagmount ,Feakle ,Co Cllare.The Moloneys built an olso school for their own children behind their own house.

about his grandparents and great grandparents. Gerard's father was born in Kilcormac Offaly his grandfather in Feakle Co. Clare and his great grandfather in Banagher, Co. Offaly. Gerard's great grandfather took many years to go from Banagher to Feakle Co. Clare because he was in charge of the making of a road which ran from Banagher to Portumna Killaloe Scarriff Feakle and ended at the Galway Boundary.
Some of that road is now disused but the most of it is still in use and is known in Clare as the "Norbury Line." This road was started principally as relief work to give employment to people who were hard hit after the Famine. The famine is never mentioned in this part of Offaly but the part of Clare which Gerard's great grandfather started work in was badly hit by both famine and cholera. The green ridges are still seen in the fields where the potatoes failed in black '47 and the people have a

chapel.
About eighty years ago, cloth was so dear that the people couldn't buy it, so on that account they had to make thier own, in the mills. There were two of these mills in Feakle ,- one for grinding corn, and the other for makinf flax materials.The first stood near the Creamery, and the second one stood near Flynn's house. They dug a big hiole down in the ground for the spinning wheel,and then they turned the water on the wheel , so that the wheel was turned around by power of the water.
Markie Patterson also lived in Feakle at this time. He was anuncle to Johnny Patterson, the celebrated cloun of world wide reputation. It was he who composed "Bridget Donohue". Markie lived in Fahy's house,which stands in the centre of the street. He was the only man in Feakle at that tome for manufacturing nails. It was he,who made every nail that went into the local chapel, when constructed in the year 1826.Markie also was ther leader of the Feakle band,and he made all his own drums, both large and small.In the year 1846 there was a hospital on Cnoc na Leacht on the top of Loughnane's hill. The patients who suffered form a kind of fever, died so numeroulsy there that they couldn't provide coffins for them. they had toput two or three dead bodies into one coffin,and throw them into a hole in the grave , so that they could have the coffin again to bury more bodies. The doctor that attended there was P.H. McDonagh

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The Holy Wells of Feakle.
There are three holy wells in Feakle parish .One is situated in lower Feakle another in Fairhill,and another in Ballycrown.
The one in lower Feakle is the principal one.It was discovered by local people who were working in the bog,which was quite convenient .There was no other holy well in the locality at the time.There was an organization in Laccoroe in the year 1881 called "The Sons of Erin",so they went around the parish and collected money to build a cement covering over it.
Not long after the wall was consecrated by Father Meade in the year 1876 .The water in that well was eagerly sought by people with various disease, particularly with the disease of sore eyes .
Near this wall there is a well called"Clon Loughna" and it happened that this bog took fire ,on account of the summer being very dry .In the meantime a woman named Mrs.Minogue went to the well for a bucket of water and sprinkled it on it ,and immediately the whole fire was quenched.

When my father was a youngster Biddy Early the famous Clare witch was living in Feakle. She had been excommunicated by that time and people were afraid to visit her. As well the journey from Kilmaley to Feakle was a trying one so altogether my father knew only three people who consulted her.One was his uncle another James O'Grady. he went to Feakle when my father was about two years old - about the year 1859. He did not go on his own behalf however. He went with a neighbour named Keatinge. Keatinge had no horse and as well he did not know a word of English while Biddy was believed to know no Irish so my grand-uncle had to act as interpreter.Keatinge's son went to Ennis one Saturday shortly before that. he brought in a sack of potatoes on a donkey's back and sold them. Afterwards he returned home apparently in the best of health but next morning he got a stroke of paralysis and could not move hand or foot. His neighbours decided that it was a "fairy stroke" and advised his father to consult Biddy and my granduncle volunteered to bring him to Feakle.When they got to the witch's house Biddy saluted by grand uncle. "Your are welcome Mr OGrady" said she. "You have been improving your house lately but you have not finished the job yet." "I have done all I mean to do."

A man lived in the parish of Feakle. He dreamt that if he went to a certain spot that he would get a pot of gold so next day he went to the bridge. He was standing at the bridge when he met a man. He told the man about his dream. The man said he dreamt that there was a pot of gold under a big flag in a certain field in the parish of Feakle. The man knew where it was. He went home and he dug under the bush and got a pot of gold. The man brought home the flag. One day a boy came in to the house and he read what was written on the flag. The woman asked him to read what was on it which was "one side is as lucky as

About eighty years ago there was a big remarkable tree in a field some distance from the village of Feakle. It had a big round trunk and wide spreading branches. In the night time black shadows used be seen going out of this tree and going into a lake that was near it. One day a boy that was living in the parish of Feakle went and cut the tree. After some time he was taken from his home. His parents searched everywhere for him but he could not be found. Then they gave up hope after three weeks his parents went to Biddy Early to inquire about the tree, was it a fairy tree or not. She told them that it was a fairy tree and that the boy had no right to touch it. Then she

At fairs such as are held in Scarriff and Feakle no tolls are, but at fairs such as Limerick and Ennis they are collected at every fair.

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was situated where the present Dr.Mc Donough now lives.When this decayed or fell the present one was built by a Father Mc Inerney who was Parish Priest of Feakle. The land of the present Jerry Moloney was pwned at that time by Father Mc Inerney's brother.
A few yards to the north of Feakle village there is a large flat stone which is supposed to be the grove of the Chief of Kilbarron. Tradition says he was killed there by a pursuer after the battle of Kilbarron.A short distance from this monument there is a fort made up of several stones and bushes.A boy once cut a tree from there to make a hurley ,and soon after his neck became stiff and remained so for some time.Two fields north from the Feakle Barracks,in a field owned by Jack Nugent there is a flat stone covered with writing.The only words understandable are ,"Remember '98","Soul"and "Lios ".Two fields to the south of this in a bleak field owned by Mrs.Mc Donough are teo large stones standing upright, and crossed on top by another large stone ,which was put there by a woman, who carried it alone for a priest to say Mass.Tradition says the priest was afterwards killed there by an enemy.
In a field owned by Michael O Brien there are a few rough stones to denote the graves of people who were buried there during the Famine.Unbaptized children were also buried there.This field is called Cnoc na Leacht to the present day.Not far from this

(There) Feakle, Co. Clare. The woman's name is Mrs. Sammon of Knockbeha, Caher, Feakle, Co. Clare. There were more houses long ago than at present. There is only one ruin in the townsland. The land is very good in this place and there is some mountain in it also. A good many people went to America and Africa the time of the trouble. There is one wood also in the named Knockbeha. It is fairly large. there is one lake in this vicinity it is called Lough Graney.

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them to come up.There was another man named Farron who lived in Woodford. Farron was always out for the English and hated Volunteers.One night he went to Search him for guns and he locked the door.Then he went up stairs to the front window with his rifle and fired at the Volunteers.However the were not there to raid him.There was also a man called Lord Geoff who lived in Loughcuter. Lord clanrickirdle whoo was a gentleman . He lived below Feakle.General Gacirs place below Feakle.He was a gentleman as well

order to please you I will go." When he arrived in Biddy's house in Feakle Biddy met him at the door and before he could speak one word, she said to him. "Why did you come to me for a cure when you told your wife before you left that you did not believe in Biddy or her cures." In any case Biddy gave him the cure and she told him to mind the bottle at a certain part of the road home. When he came to the part of the road which she mentioned he was dragged off his horse and beaten and the bottle broken. He returned to Feakle the following night and when he arrived at Biddy's house she told him all that happened him on his road home. She gave him a second bottle with the same warning as before. On his road home he was pulled off his horse for the second time but he managed to save the bottle. He took it home to his sick wife and she was cured in a few days.

into it, and he was stirring inside in the coffin. The people were very glad to get rid of him.
For the past 50 years a black dog has been seen in this locality by night. The people say he was enchanted. He was first seen in Caher in the parish of Feakle. Later he was seen in the village of Feakle. It was told by the people that saw him that he was as big as a calf with eyes like fire. He seems to go about to different places as he was seen in Fortane also in Drumcharley. People say that he belonged to man called Concubair Taidg. Corrcubair had some magic power. Where ever he went this dog went with him. After Tadg's death the dog could not be found, and sometimes he is still seen in these places.

The beautiful and historic parish of Feakle ought to be well proud of its stalwart hurlers and jovial athletes especially Tim Smythe one of Ireland's most prominent athletes. He was born in Kildavin in that famous little parish well worthy of its name. As his father married into the place it was in his maternal grandfather's house he was born. He was as is said locally a "cliamhain isteach." When he was young he received his early education in Feakle National school from Mr. Michael Keating B.A. a noted Irish scholar and antiquarian. He died a few years ago.While he was still young he broke his leg

After some time he left Kilclarin and removed to the other side of the parish. He taught a school in the townland of Curragh. He did not live here but in a townland near by called Derrybinne where his family lived.He had two daughters one of whom was married to a tailor named Mr Ryan in Limerick. The other was married to a Mr Bugler of Kilral (?) who it is said was an apprentice to Ryan. Brian left Feakle for Limerick about the year 1800 where he died about eight years aftewards in Clare Street under poor circumstances. His body was brought back to Feakle and buried there according to Walter Moloney who lived near the graveyard and who actually met the funeral.

In the parish of Feakle though there are many spring wells which supply the people with water, there is to my knowledge only one blessed well. It is situated in a field belonging to Mr. Dan Joe Minogue in the townland of Kilbarron.
It is said that long ago all the cattle around Feakle were sick and dying. The priest of the parish blessed this well and the people used to come for the water to sprinkle it on the sick animals. Then in respect the people erected a little house over the well and since then it has been known locally as the "Blessed well."Many people come to this well on the first

298 The Making of Spades
Long ago smiths made spades Michael (Mickie) Minogue was a great spade maker.Minogues were great smiths and are smiths for at least five generations.They made them of iron called spade-iron and of old spades.They put temper in them with water and sledging. When the spade was made they would leave it on the anvil and sprinkle it with water, then they would sledge it.They also made sleagháns or turf spades These black smiths lived in Gortvrulla,Feakle Martin Minogue a black smith lives there still.he has three brothers black smiths .One has a forge in Scarriff ,one has a forge in Kilclarn ,Feakle, and the other has a forge in Galway.

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the floor and then throw herself on top of it .
If you didnt make the tea for her she would curse you but they sat her curses were harmless. She died in the old work-house in Tulla and the people of Feakle buried her in Feakle.