nearly allways hide their gold under a hawthorn bush, or near an ogham stone.

It is bad luck to bring hawthorn into a house.

(Photo caption: Crosses beneath Hawthorn Tree in Kilmore Parish.)

There is a big hawthorn bush in the town-land of

it was, and he told her about the old hawthorn and said it was "under the shade of the hawthorn" and that it had taken a "pile" of stones to fill it.

In a field belonging to Eddie Coffey of Roundfield, Monivea, there is a Lios built on a hill and surrounded by hawthorn bushes. One big hollow surrounds the Lios and in the hollow there is a big hawthorn bush. It is said that if anyone should cut that bush he would never have any luck. People say fairies inhabit it.

On the eve of the 1st of May the man of the house brings in some branches of hawthorn. This is known as "bringing in the May". It is not considered lucky for any female bring the "May" in. The branches of hawthorn are left in the house until the end of the month, and then they are burned.

There was an old man living in Monedaragh about fourteen years ago and he cut a stick from a hawthorn tree, supposed to be gentle which was growing outside of his house and when he peeled it he threw the peelings into the fire but they were immediately thrown out again by an invisible hand and were left beside the hawthorn tree.

Across the lake, opposite the lake hill grows a hawthorn bush. In spring and summer it is just an ordinary hawthorn bush but in the autumn when other trees are preparing for the year's rest and their leaves are turning brown and withering and in winter when the other bushes are bare and leafless, then this hawthorn is certainly remarkable, but its leaves are still as green and plentiful as they were in the month of June.All the year round it preserves its leaves green and fresh and the local people say it marks the burial place of fairy gold. On this account it is guarded by the fairies and so must not be touched anymore than trees or bushes growing in a fort. Several stories are told locally of the people who interfered with this tree and were punished for it. Those who did so unwittingly got such slight warnings as sore hands or legs caused by scratches from the tree and these got all right again. But others who injured the tree through bravado were more seriously punished - by broken limbs caused by falling on the way home, some of which resulted in permanent injuries

a hawthorn tree at Sinnott's stile". Larry had little confidence in the old man's talk and passed out to his work. As the old man was leaving he turned to the woman and said "Good day you'll be sorry yet you did not mind me".
Twelve months after as Larry Casey and his wife were in bed they heard a voice outside the window saying, "Larry Casey will you come and rise the crock of gold at the hawthorn tree". "I'd be afraid," says Larry, something might happen me". "No harm will befall you I vow says the voice I'm weary minding this gold will you come at one o'clock to-morrow night". I will said Larry. The night came, his wife refused consent to let him go. At the same time that night the voice came to the window again and says, Larry Casey you did not come." Larry replied "no" but I will go to-morrow night. He did not go that night either and the voice came to the window again and said "There will no one ever rise it only a Casey." Years after Larry Casey's son was ploughing the field and his plough struck an earthern crock under the hawthorn but when raised was found to contain nothing but yellow water-enchanted gold

The thrush, the blackbird, the robin, the linnet, the sparrow, the goldfinch, bullfinch, chaffinch, the wren, the lark, the swallow, the cuckoo, the corncrake, the rook, the magpie, the hawk, and the greycrow are common in this district. The cuckoo, the corncrake, and the swallow migrates in Autumn. The blackbird and the thrush usually build their nest in roadside bushes and in woods. The robin builds its nest in a hole in a wall. The goldfinch usually builds its nest in elder bushes. The linnet builds in hawthorn or in elder bushes. The wren builds in hawthorn bushes and it lays eighteen eggs. Although it lays such a large number of eggs the wren is a bird that is not often seen. The corncrake builds its nest in the meadow. The cuckoo never builds a nest. The rooks build in any suitable high tree and they fight for sticks when reparing their

Long ago in a field belonging to John Horran in Skeeheen there was a big hawthorn bush growing in it. One day a ganger and a number of men cane to make a road through the village. The hawthorn bush lay in the side of the road inconvenient for the men to male the road so it had to be cut down. The ganfer told the men to cut it down but they said they would not that it was not right. They then cast lots and the lots fell on three men from Skeheen so they cut it down. It was late when they went home from work that night so they were found dead in the morning and the three were buried together. Nobody ever went near the spot where the bush was. This is how the village got the name of Skeheen.

There was a man one time by the name of Pat Kilbane. He lived in Curlea. He dreamt one night that there was a chest of gold in a field on his land under a hawthorn bush. When he got up in the morning he got his spade and set out to dig under the hawthorn bush. He dug down about two feet and he saw something shining. He was overjoyed when he looked down and saw the iron chest. He dug down further until he got it up. It was the loveliest chest he ever saw. There was a lid on it and a lovely golden nob and on the lid there was shaped a two-story house and one chimney. There was four stands under it. It was ful of gold. It was there three hundred years.

she saw the hawthorn blossom caught ot and threw it out through the window. two days later there was an examination in the school at which her son attended. The son who was a twister always pretended to be sick on examination days but got really ill on the day of this examination. In the evening he was feeling better but at ten o'clock that night he got bad again. Next morning when his mother went up to his room she found him unconscious. A specialist was sent for but he could so nothing for the boy. He died the following morning at eight o'clock. The hawthorn blossom was supposed to have brought ill luck to the house.

There is a large Mass rock in the land of Ardvarna. There is a hawthorn bush growing up through the joining of the rock. It was called the blessed tree. The mass rock is down in a hallow and all the people used to go there to hear mass. If the Priest was seen saying mass he would be beheaded. The Priests used to say mass there in the penals days. It was said that the hawthorn bush that was growing through the rock used to cure pains in the teeth and the people used to give rounds there.

there many times. His name is Dormor. He lived in the house before the Moores. Mrs. Moore saw him one night walking in before here in the Avenue. She said he was dressed in a black suit, and a tall black hat. He usually goes straight down to a hawthorn tree in the middle of the lawn. From this hawthorn tree there is an underground channel connecting that place with the dwelling house. Dormor used to make money in the channel, and once when he was paying the workman his wages the money was hot and the poor old woman said, "O it is very hot sir." The man of the house got so vexed

the Danes. They carried a large hawthorn bush decorated with ribbons and candles in honour of the Blessed Virgin in thanksgiving.

Much of the information in the following pages comes from Peter Flattery ("Old Peter"). He is 82 yrs "going on 83" (1937). He lives in Frederick Str. Clara otherwise known as "The Back Road. This house is low and has an iron roof. It used to be thatched but Peter found thatch too expensive (See P.21) so has it roofed with galvanise "in the war". His house has a wattle chimney + two hawthorn sticks go from the front beam through the wattled part to the back + another hawthorn stick crossed them to hold the crook. Those sticks have been there since Peter remembers, The old rafters were hawthorn also but were changed when new roof was put on. There are three rooms in this house. Its end is to the road and it faces South East. This house did not belong to the Flatterys. Peter's mother owned it, His grandmother Mary Byrne had the lease of it and the little farm rolled round a stick and a piece of cloth sewed round it. It was 300 years old and he remembers it stuck in the roof but it got lost when he was getting the new roof on. He doesn't know at all what happened it. Peter's father + uncles were all shoe makers, proper shoe makers not just cobblers. Peter's father served his time to Joe Geoghagan's father where Joe still lives (See P. 12, also P. 113) Peter worked for years in the Starch House in the factory. Peter's nephew, Tommy Flattery, local postman, is a serious student of Local History + is a mine of information on the Subject but I have not consulted him for this book as he is writing a book himself.

The birds which are commonly found in this district are:- The black-bird, thrush, crane, wild duck, black diver, robin, crow and sparrow.
The following birds migrate:- The wild duck, swallow Cuckoo. The thrush blackbird, wren and robin build their nests in hawthorn bushes or in a bunch of briars. The crow, and crane, build their nests on the top of a high tree. The sparrow builds her nest in a hawthorn bush, with straw and clay.

Years ago there was an old hawthorn bush growing in the centre of the village of Crosspatrick supposed to be a monument over some persons that were killed or executed there. About 50 years ago a pump was sunk by the side of this tree and on the sinking of the pump they came on the bones of a man which they placed back again in the same place just under the stone flag of the pump. Old people say there were 3 hawthorn bushes in it at one time many years ago, and that was a man buried under each tree. These men were either killed or executed there. There is no sign of any bush there now as the last bush was blown away by a storm about twenty or thirty years ago. There was an old custom years ago that every funeral that would pass the way would stop at the Monument and prayers for the dead would be said there, and then go on their way again but that is not done now.