Not many years ago there existed a national school in Aghaboe. It was built at the turn, on the western side, of the bridge in Aghaboe. A teacher named Mr Morrissey taught there.Mr Bannon an old man in the district, said, that he must have been a native of Aghaboe, because his tow sons knew all about Aghaboe, English reading, writing.

Long ago there was a monastery in Aghaboe and

There is an underground Tunnel from Castletown Castle to Aghaboe.

Many years ago St.Canice had his church is Aghaboe and another in Kilkenny. At that time Aghaboe was a city. When he died the people of Aghaboe wanted to have his body buried in Aghaboe and the people of Kilkenny wanted to have him buried in Kilkenny. After that there was a great battle between the two peoples. When the battle was half over the people saw two coffins instead of one so they agreed to take a coffin each. The marks of the two coffins are in a field owned by Mr, White. It is not known who got the right coffin. It is said that which ever

In a field near our school, there is a cross know as Kenny's Cross. It is said that the cross marks the site of a battle which was fought between the Kilkenny people and the people of Aghaboe. When St. Kenny died at Aghaboe, the Kilkenny men came in force as he was being waked in the monastery church and bore his remains away to be buried in their own chief town. The men of Agaboe pursued them with all haste and overtook them in that field. The Kilkenny men laid down the coffin and drew up in battle order but scarcely had the battle commenced when two coffins exactly alike appeared in their midst. The combatants agreed to take a coffin each and one was buried in Aghaboe and the other in Kilkenny.

About the fifth century a holy man by the name of Canice founded a monastery at Aghaboe, Leix. When he died the people of Shanahoe were taking him to bury him in Aghaboe, when some people from Kilkenny demanded the body for burial in Kilkenny but the Aghaboe's refused. They left the coffin on the ground and started to quarrel when they looked again there was two coffins instead of

St. Canice lived in a hut in Aghaboe in Queen's County now called Leix. While there he paid several visits to Kilkenny and spoke to the people there of Heavenly things. On that account the people loved him and of course the people with whom he dwelt loved him also. When he died the people of Aghaboe wanted to bury him there and the people of Kilkenny wanted to bury him with them. So the people of both places decided to have a fight to see which would get the coffin; But when they were about to draw up their sleeves a second coffin appeared and the people of Aghaboe took one and the inhabitants of Kilkenny took the real coffin and buried it in a church which gave the name St Canice's Church to the Church and City.

Aghaboe is a very historic place. Long ago St (Banice?) had a monastry in Aghaboe and he also had one in Kilkenny. When St Banice died there was a dispute about where he would be buried so when they were disputing they looked around and saw two coffins.So Aghaboe got one and Kilkenny the other.The marks of the coffins are still to be seen in Mr White's field in Aghaboe.Tom Byrne told me this story. He lives in Donaghmore which is about a mile and a half from Rathdowney. His age is about 68 years.

The Knockaroo road starts at Derrin Cross off the main road and goes out to Aghaboe upon the main road that leads to Kilkenny and Waterford. It is a terrible old road and it is still used. At Aghaboe Saint Canice had his monastery.

Long ago there were two ge great monasteries one at Aghaboe in Ossary and the other ten miles away at Monahinch in the County Tipperary. The monks at one of the monasteries had an old grey horse called the Garran bawn. In those times messages were passed every day between the two monasteries. Before he got old Garran Bawn had travelled so often Aghaboe and Monahinch that he knew every inch of the road. The

St. Canice
During his life, he was a very holy man, he lived chiefly at Aghaboe, and very often he used visit Kilkenny as it was very lonely that time, Ir is said that he used sail up the river "Breige" in a little canoe and pray in his well. There are two slabs in the well one his bed , and the other his table, what the water flows through his fire, and the pipe where it comes from his chimney.
There is a street and a parish called after him. He cured many people in Aghaboe and Kilkenny and there are
many people in the district called after him.
When he died in Aghaboe the people of Kilkenny stole the remains by night when the people of Aghaboe heard this, they set out to follow

Long ago St Banice had a church in Aghaboe and another in Kilkenny.When he died the people of Aghaboe wanted to have his body to bury it in Aghaboe and the people of Kilkenny wanted it to bury it in Kilkenny so there was a great battle between the two peoples.When the battle was just over the people saw two coffins instead of one so they agreed to take one each.The marks of the coffins are still on the ground in a field which is the property of a man named Mr White and it is on

The people of the district of Aghaboe tell many stories of hidden treasure, It is told that the monks that lived in Aghaboe long ago, hid the sacred vessels of the monastery for safety from Cromwell, because they had heard that Cromwell's soldiers had committed sacrileges in the Churches in Kilkenny. On hearing of the approach of Cromwell to Aghaboe, the monks took the sacred vessels out of the monastery and put them in a draw-well fur feet deep for safety.
This well is situated four yards from the front door of the Abbey. The water of that well ran in a river into another well, and the well in which the sacred vessels were, fell in.
Cromwell's soldiers made attempts to unearth it, but the implements they had, were swept out of their hands by and unseen power. The vessels were valued some thousands of pounds, but the exact sum is unknown, as those people that put them there might not have known their worth. Some say there is a large dog minding it, while others maintain that there is an invisible soldier with a white horse

many from the district attended. Mr Bannon was finished school at that time but he went to night-school. Mr Nail succeeded Mr Mc Kelvy. He was a native of Durrow. No one cared for him, as he was supposed to be a kind of queer. Mr Bannon's father went there to school, and his teacher was Mr Lawlor. who was put under the bridge in Aghaboe. The teachers always lived in some rooms off the school room. English was the only language spoken there. A black-board was used in that school. At first there were slates and slate-pencils used, but as time went on, there were pens and ink introduced. There is a desk at present in our house. Mr Dunne taught there. There is a lid on it, and according to Mr Bannon, books were stored there.
This school lasted many years. When Mr White came to live in Aghaboe, he objected to the noise of the children. He got a school built in the "Fair Green" Aghaboe, He took possession of our house

toilsome mission he returned to Ireland. He journeyed straight in the direction of Ossory and on his way he received by grant an Island in Lough Ree. The first Irish monastery of Saint Canice was therefore founded in Westmeath. It gave its name to Kilkenny West. Some time afterwards, in gratitude for benefits bestowed on him, the King of Ossory gave many villages or small towns to the Saint, all of which became the sites of Churches and monasteries. The most important of those were. Kilkenny and Aghaboe. The latter monastery he loved best, and was the one most intimately connected with this place.
Whilst Canice lived at Aghaboe he built a little hut at Mona-hincha. He died there on the 14th October, 560 A.D.
In a field in Aghaboe there is a cross in the grass quite visible by the darker green colour of the grass.

district.
The buried treasure consists of gold and silver. The value is thousands of pounds.
There is another treasure hidden near Mr Edward Whelan's House in Cuffsborough. It was placed there when Lady Cuffe died. Before she died she said "Bury me in my garden with my jewels." The people buried her and did not mark the spot where she was buried. No one could ever find the this treasure.
There is another treasure hidden opposite the front-door of the monastery in Aghaboe in a draw-well four feet deep, about eighty yards from the stile, leading to the Abbey. It was placed there by the monks who lived in Aghaboe about the seventeenth century, as they heard of Cromwell's approach and feared that he would destroy the monastery. The monks buried the sacred vessels of the monastery in a well before Cromwell came to Aghaboe. The water drained out of the well and the ground closed into the well miraculously.
When Cromwell came to Aghaboe, his soldiers made attempts to unearth it, but the people would not tell them where it had been hidden.

Long ago when Cromwell came to Aghaboe the first thing he did was to go see the monastery. He said that it was a very beautiful building and that he would not destroy the city. On Palmer's Hill the soldiers were waiting for Cromwell to tell them to blow up the city. Some soldiers went into the houses and ordered the people to give everything they had up to them. A certain soldier went into a tailor's shop. The tailor had a basin of water beside him on the table and he threw it upon him, and destroyed his clothes. The angry soldier rushed back to Cromwell and told him to blow up the city and so Aghaboe was destroyed.

Darcy's Moor and it is called the Brewster's stream It rises in a well in the Mr Lawlor's field in Boherard. A man named Brewster dug the well and well is called Brewster's well.There are many fields named after places and things. The lawn of my residence at home is called "The Rampark". Long ago there were rams fattened on the lawn and that was why it was called "The Rampark" It is in the townland of Coolfin and it is in the Parish of Aghaboe.There is another field beside this one called "The Hand-field, because it is beside "The Hand-Crossroads." The Hand is so named, as when Cromwell came to destroy the monastery in Aghaboe, he broke a statue, and afterwards the hand of the statue was found and placed in a wall near this Crossroads by the roadmen. Many people came to see it. Sometime after the hand was stolen and the wall was thrown. Although there is no hand on it now it is called the "Hand." It is in the townland of Coolfin and it is in the Parish of Aghaboe.About forty perches from my house is the Foxcover-field" which is joining Mr

and sweeter than the nuts of any other rath. Mercier's rath, Keenan's rath and Phelan's rath of Aghaboe are connected.
Phelan's rath is called the "Black Grove" on account of its darkness. It is smaller than that of Mr. Merciers, and Mr. Keenans. It is just a very small rath. Hazels grow there also, and nuts are also plentiful there. It is said that the bull which guards the hidden treasure which is near the Abbey in Aghaboe dwells in that rath.
Fairies lived in Mr. Mercier's rath one time, and a story concerning those fairies is told. They used to pass from Mr. Mercier's rath to Mr. Keenan's rath and in doing so, they passed through Delaney's house of Aghaboe. There was a family living in that house once, and they had one very beautiful child. Everyone admired it. It is thought that if anyone admired a child, they should say, "God bless it". If not it is said, that the fairies will take that child. They took this child, and left in its stead a very ugly, sulky, child. This child was a real fairy child. As any stranger entered, it would be up on the rafters, and the next minute it

one. So to settle the matter they took a coffin each. The Kilkenny people took theirs and buried it in Kilkenny and the Aghaboes' buried the other in Aghaboe.
The old tradition is that the Kilkenny people must have secured the body because Kilkenny prospered and Aghaboe decayed. There is a Cathedral in Kilkenny called St. Canice's.