There is a well out in Crossabeg called St Molruan's well. A farmer was digging his land and he discovered a well and in it he found a small wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin. They called the well Molruan's. On Pattern nights the people used to bring the statue to the graveyard and put it on a tombstone and light candles around it. This farmer was leaving Crossabeg to live in Screen. His neighbours went with him and lent him their horses and carts to remove his belongings. When passing the field in which the well is, one of the horses stopped and the men could not understand why. The horses stopped so they exchanged horses but it was all in vain. One of the men then asked which cart the statue was in. The men said it was in that one. One man suggested removing the statue from the cart and when they did, the horse went on.

found nothing else of a religious kind.
Very often in these times the Preist used to hide and sleep on the Church at Begerin.
In the Penal Times also the Church was burned in Crossabeg.
Fr. Dixon of Crossabeg was transported in a convict vessel in The Penal Times he was chained to a dead black for persecution, the rats were eating the dead body of the black.
He planted the Catholic Religion the year he landed in Australia. He was the first Catholic who landed there.
He came back two years after that and he is now buried in Crossabeg Churchyard.

In 1883 the Wexford County Championship was kicked in Tannerhill. Six teams competed, Rosslare, St. Annes, Piercestown, Crossabeg, Ballamore, and Kilmannon. The games lasted six hours. The deciding match was between Rosslare and Crossabeg. Rosslare scored the deciding point.Twenty one men were on each side. Refereeing was much the same as nowadays, but sideline throws or hoppings were not then practiced. Neither were the players in any special positions as backs or forwards. Nearly all the time the whole forty-four were scrummaging around the ball. The ball was made of pigskin.
In hurling matches the goalposts were made of a long sallie, or two, bent in the middle, and both ends stuck in the ground. There were no crossbars and points were left to the referee's decision. A goal at that time was equal to ten points.To pick a team the best and strongest men of a parish gathered

Mollruan Well.There is a well in Crossabeg, called "Mollruan." The name came like this :-
One day as a farmer was digging his land, he dis-covered a well and in it he found a small wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin. The neighbours called the statue - "Mollruan" and from that the well got its name. On Pattern nights the people used bring the statue to the Graveyard and put it on a tombstone and light candles around it.It happened however that the farmer who owned the well was leaving Crossabeg to live in Screen. His neighbours lent him their servants and horses to remove his belongings.
As they were passing the field in which

229Local Ruins.There are three ruined castles in the school dictrict. Robert FitzStephenson built those castles.
There is one in each of the following places, Artramont, The Deeps, and Ferrycarrig, in the parish of Crossabeg, in the Barony of Shilmalier.
Local tradition is that people dreamt that there was money underneath the castle in Ferrycarrig. On several occasions people dug for it and it was said that when they were about to unearth the crock of gold, a hen and chickens appeared and scratched the clay back in its place again. There is a dungen in each of those castles.
There is a ruined church in Artramont and one in Saunderscourt, the one in Saunderscourt was once a Catholic church and it was taken over by the Protestants. There was also a church in Crossabeg and it was burned by the military in 1798.Sadie Walsh
Kereight
Co. Wexford.

One dark stormy Christmas Eve a man formerly from Coolamain lived at Kyle Crossabeg. His name was John Cosgrave. He walked into the Slaney at Ferrycarrig and he was drowned. His body was found about a month afterwards at Ferrycarrig he was drowned in the year 1928.
About 60 years ago there was a man by the name of James Kelly who lived in Edermine. He owned a mill. One day he was grinding corn and his clothes got caught on the machinery and he was killed instantly.

A long time ago as an engine was going down a hill called the "Dark Walk. The driver did not put on the brakes quick enough and the engine ran into a wall beside the road and fell into the field.
Both men were killed and the engine badly damaged. After some time the engine was taken away and the wall was repaired but the mark is there still. This happened in the Parish of Crossabeg about the year 1906.

A Link with the hallowed pastThe Cross in Crossabeg Cemetery marks the site of the High Alter where mass was Celebrated for the last time August 2nd 1914.
This Church was built in 1765 but was burned by the Military on June 24th 1798.It was rebuilt in 1802. Within its sacred precincts are many priests including the far famed convict Fr. Dixon. Their remains now lie in the priest's plot adjoining the new church.Fr Dixon was one of the famous convict priests who was unjustly transported to Botany Bay in the year 1799.During nine years of exile, despite his own terrible suffering he laboured indefatigably for the salvation of his outlawed countrymen.It was his privilage to be one of the first three priests who Celebrated Mass on Australian soil and to rank as first prefect's apostolic appointed by the Holy See to the New Colony.James Murphy
Garrycleary,
Crossabeg,
Co. Wexford.

Local Poets
In the year 1900 the Poet Sutton addressed the following to a fellow Poet Potts of Crossabeg
Come down and stop a week with me
As soon as you'll have time
And I'll do my best my learned friend
To teach you how to Rhyme
For I'll have some wine + porter
And whiskey in a keg
And I'll send you back a finished bard
To the land of Crossabeg.
He wrote the following poem about the ministers dog.
My poor little "Prenny"
When you were a cur
A rat or a mouse
For you could not stir.
But now you are feeble
And not able to bark

The well is in one of the horses stopped and would not draw its load. They changed the horses - all in vain none of them would pull the load. Then it struck one of the men to ask, which cart the Mollruan statue was on.
The owner said it was on the cart, the horse would not draw. So they took down the statue, and when they did the horse went on with its load.
The statue is still at Crossabeg - owned at present by a man named Mr. Curran

There is one ruined Castle in the school district it is said the Danes built it and it is supposed to be a thousand years old.
It is a square building with long slits not very wide for windows.
It is broader at the bottom than at the top. This Castle is in the townland of Ardtramont the parish of Crossabeg the Barony of Shelmalier East and in the County of Wexford.
This Castle has no dungeon but there is supposed to be an underground passage from it to the river Slaney which is about four or five hundred

The great Famine of '46 & '47 caused great distress and hunger here but it was not as bad here as in other places and people used to even come here from other places to work for one meal a day.
This district was more populated in the time of the Famine than it is now but I heard that only one man died with the hunger and that he lived in Crossabeg and he was in the act of eating a turnip when he died.
Nobody knows how the potato blight came because sometimes thunder and lightening brings it and sometimes an insect which works with the

the Island of St Vincent in the year of 1847 aged 19 years."
There are two monuments erected in the churchyard over people called the "Goodalls" and on one is inscribed the following
"This monument has been erected by the Subscription of his friends to perpetuate the memoy of Ebenezer Goodall Esq MD Who having been for 34 years the Medical Officer of the Crossabeg Dispensary died of fever contracted among the poor in the discharge of his Professional Duties on the 20th. March 1871 aged 64 years."
On the other is written
" In memory of Olivia Goodall who died the 8th. December 1849 in the 29 year of her age. This little monument has been erected as a mark of sincere esteem and unalterable love by her husband Ebenezer Goodall."
Inside in the church on each side of the

There are five graveyards in the Parish of Glynn. There are two in the village of Glynn, another in the village of Crossabeg, another in the village of Barntown and another in the village of Whitechurch. They are good churches in each.There are some tree, old tombs and monuments. There are some crosses of wood and some of iron. There are no disused graveyards in the Parish.There is no story in connection. There are local people buried in certain graveyard but further away from the church graveyard.

214The Blest Wells of this Parish.In Crossabeg parish there are three Blest Wells, St. Patrick's in Saunderscourt, St. Bridget's in Artramont, and St. Mulroon's in Ballinaleck. The history of St. Patrick's well is - Some time ago an English lord became the owner of Saunderscourt. He did not approve of the Saint's well being on his lawn. So he ordered his men to fill up the well. To his surprise, when he awoke next morning, his lawn was a beautiful lake. At once he had to open St. Patrick's well, and all the water cleared off his lawn immediately. The History of St. Mulroon's statue is in fairly good preservation in the locality. At one time the soldiers thought to remove the statue they were unable to do so even with horse power. They then tried to bring it in boats, and they could not bring it across the river Slaney, as the boats filled with water, and they had to abandon its removal.
People go to St. Bridget's well to have their eyes cured. In recent years people visited

Long ago there were about six tailors in this district.
There were three in Castlebridge and their names were William Shiggings, Stephen Shiggings and Laurence Shiggins.
There was one in Crossabeg and his name was Tom Bennett.
There was one in Curracloe and his name was Walsh.
There was one in Screen and I do not know his name but the people call him " Watt the Tailor".
Also there was one in the Sgough and his name is Tom Pender.
They generally went from house to

There are four Holy Wells in this district St Brigit's Ardtramont, St Columcille's Ardcolm, St Kevin's Ardcavan and St Melruan's Crossabeg.
St Brigit's was the principal well, people came from all parts to be cured of all diseases and nearly all of them left something behind them.
The trees around the well were full of Rosary beads, medals, money, walking sticks and other objects but no one ever touched these for they had a holy fear of the Saint.
It is believed that this water will not boil and there was once a woman who would not believe this and she brought home some of the water and put it in a saucepan to try to boil it, but when she looked there was nothing in the saucepan but blood.
The water of this well will never get bad when it is corked.
Near the well are the ruins of an Abbey and there was

There are several roads leading to Castlebridge some new and some old for example The Wexford Road, The Chapel Road or Old Road, The Old Town Road, The New Road, The Back Road, Cod's- Bridge Road, Ardtramont Road.
The Wexford Road leads directly from Castlebridge to Wexford.
The Chapel Road or Old Road leads to Little Oulart.
The Old Town Road leads to Ardcolm.
The New Road leads directly to Gorey.
The Back Road leads to The Ballagh and Ballymurn.
Codd's-Bridge Road leads to Bally-Boggan.
The Ardtramont Road leads to Crossabeg.
The New Road was made about the time of the Famine in the year '48.
At this period also Codd's-Bridge Road was repaired

217My Home DistrictThe name of the townland in which I reside is Kereight in the parish of Crossabeg, in the Barony of Shilmalier.
There are eight famiies living in this district, the approximate number of people is thirty three. Most of the houses are thatched that are in my district, The "Fortune" families are most common in my townland. There are no old people over seventy residing there. The houses were more numerous locally in former times there are six houses in ruins in the district, several people emigrated to America from those houses in former years as there was no work for them to get in Ireland.
Parts of the land are boggy and parts are very good. A river runs through the townland a tributary to the river Slaney.Sadie Walsh
Kereight, Kyle
Co. Wexford.

176Local Place NamesThe names of some fields on farms near us :-
The ash-tree field, the old-walls, the briary field, The Crossabeg (Whelan's Ballyorley), the high - knock field (Mr P Walsh), the cross - stone field (Mr W. Gahan), the marl field (Mr Bolger Garrybritt), the rascal (Mr Webster Garrybritt).
The cross - stone field is so called that name because there is a cross on one ditch of it.
The marl - field is called that name because there is a marl hole in it.Patrick Brien,
Ballyorley,
Boolavogue, Ferns
Co Wexford.