The Reeks District Folklore

1ST EDITION: MAY 2021

The Reeks District Folklore Collection Compiled by Conor Browne

Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Introduction From 1937 to 1939 the Irish Folklore Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Education and the National Teachers' Organisation, collected folklore, mythology and local history from across the newly created Irish Free State. The scheme resulted in the creation of over half a million manuscript pages, generally referred to as ‘Bailiúchán na Scoil’ or ‘The Schools’ Collection’.

The majority of the stories below are drawn from this collection. I have supplemented them with tales I have gathered from present day locals and my family. I hope that this collection will provide a foundation to be built on and expanded by folklore enthusiasts from across Mid Kerry.

In the majority of cases I have transcribed the stories verbatim but in a few incidents I had to do some slight editing to make the accounts more legible. I have included footnotes to help explain or enhance the understanding of these tales. I hope you will enjoy and appreciate the rich cultural heritage these stories provide. We are extremely lucky to call such a magical part of the world our home.

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.

(In the shelter of others people survive) Conor Browne

(B) Bailiúchán na Scoil (A) New Additions

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Mythological Creatures

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The Rossbeigh Merrow Long ago a man named Shea lived in Glenbeigh. One day he went to Rossbeigh for sea-weed. On his way home he saw a woman sitting on a stone in the bank combing her hair. He threw off the load of sea-weed. He tried to get between her and the tide but he failed. He came again the next day and she was in the same place but again he failed. He came again the third day with a saddle horse and he caught her. He put her up on the horse’s back and carried her home. He took the cape from her and put it in hide up in the loft. After a time he married her and they had three children. After a time one of the children died and the husband was sorry at the loss of the child and the woman only laughed. Later on a man came in and they asked him to eat potatoes. The man refused and the woman only laughed. She was seven years and a day married and the man of the house was cleaning the loft and the woman was watching for the cape. And the first thing that fell off was the cape. The woman saw it and she got it and off she flew to the tide. It is ever since called the Shea's bank. It is said since that anyone of the Sheas can't get outside the bar.

Collector: Patrick McCarthy Informant: Fionán Mac Carthaigh Note: A Merrow is the Irish version of a Mermaid. When they appear on land they will have a cap, cape or comb with them. Without this magical item they are unable to return to the sea.

(B)

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Cait Sith One bright night a girl was walking along the road to Glenbeigh. She saw a black cat on the road and kicked it. Her leg became stiff and a man stood in the cat's place.

Note: The Cait Sith is well recorded in Irish folklore. It is a type of fairy who can take on the appearance of a black cat. They have been known to live among humans as pets.

(B)

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The Mermaid of the Laune Hundreds of years ago pearls were to be seen along the strand of the river Laune. Every evening at about sunset a lovely young girl used to be seen picking them. It seems that she was not a real girl at all. She was half a girl and half a salmon. She was called a mermaid. One day an old woman was sitting on a stone near the river when she heard a lovely song being sung. She did not see anyone until she looked into the water, when she saw a beautiful maiden splashing among the waves with her tail. The foolish old woman put her hand into the water trying to catch her but the mermaid pulled her in and she was drowned. That night three or four men went looking for the old woman. The maiden saw them coming and she began to sing, but they struck her with the oar and killed her. She was never seen again.

Collector: Peggie Kelliher Informant: Mrs Michael Kelliher Note: The River Laune was once famous for its pearls. ‘It is said “pearls of price” were obtained in great number from the Laune and that many graced the fair necks of the wives and daughters of the Desmond chiefs.

(B)

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The Night the Banshee came to Killorglin I was told this story as a child about the banshee. An old lady, a resident of the town, had died. As usual in the 1960s the wake was held in the family home and was well attended as this woman had run a business and therefore well known to all. The wake went on till the early hours, when the custom was the corpse would be surrounded by family, friend and neighbours who would relate stories and reminisce about the person’s life. But tonight’s wake would be different! As people were leaving and heading home in the darkness they were alerted by a mournful crying. This was unlike anything they had heard before. The sound seemed to come from all different directions as if the person crying was moving fast from one place to another. Frightened by this eerie and unusual sound they hurried on but the keening didn’t abate, it swept up and down the street, before them then behind always the same piteous cry! What or who was it and what was causing this? Frightened they hurried home anxious to leave this unnatural sound. The next day the whole conversation was....... what had caused this frightful crying until an old resident unperturbed said the banshee had come to mourn the passing of the old lady.

What had been whispered and wondered by the frightened mourners had been explained.

Informant: Jacinta Browne Note: There are numerous tales of the Banshee from Killorglin. She was said to watch the town at times from Dromin Hill, a gorse covered hill which overlooks Killorglin on the east bank of the Laune.

A Banshee is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing, shrieking, or keening (A)

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Lios na Phúca About a mile north of my house, there is a field which is called Lios na Phúca, which means the "fort of the fairies". In days gone by a white pony used be seen at midnight coming out from Lios na Phúca. One night a man was out late and the pony met him on the road and made him go on his back. Then the horse galloped as fast as he could and when he could not knock him off, he went to the top of a cliff and stood on two legs to try to throw him off and kill him. He kept doing this all night, and it is said that when the pony heard a cock crowing it disappeared. This pony is supposed to be a fairy pony known as the Phúca.

Collector: Micheál Ó Neill Informant: Mrs Elizabeth Mangan (B)

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Ghost Stories

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The Servant Girl Who Saw the Ball of Fire Long ago a Catholic boy got married to a Protestant girl in Killorglin. They hired a Catholic girl to work in the house. One night the girl saw a red ball of fire coming down the stairs and going around the house three times. It was the devil. Next day she told her mistress, who said, "Take no notice of it". When the girl went to Confession, she told the priest, and he said, "Go away out of that house. There was a girl working there before you, and she got sick and died with fright because she saw the same thing".

Collector: Han Brosnan Informant: William Brosnan Note: There may be a veiled warning in this story about the dangers of an interfaith union.

(B)

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Ghost of Lower Cromane In Lower Cromane there was a school until 1886 when a new school was built at Upper Cromane. There is a graveyard for children who died without baptism near the ruins of the school. There were two boys from Stookisland who used to go home through the graveyard. One of the boys was called Michael Hurley.

One day when Michael passed through the graveyard he asked was there any Ghost to fight. He said it three evenings and the third evening a Ghost followed him and hit him on the back and he died at home. The other boy escaped.

Collector: Patrick F. McCarthy Informant: James Healy Note: Tales of being struck by invisible forces are common in Irish folklore. The word ‘Stroke’ used in place of the medical term Cerebrovascular accident comes from the belief that a stroke sufferer was thumped (stroked) by a fairy and it was this blow that caused their ailments.

(B)

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Ghost of Steelroe There was a man and his wife living once. They had only one child, and after a while the mother died. The father got married again and the step-mother was very good to the child. They had one cow and the cow got sick. One night the woman of the house went out to see the cow. A mysterious woman appeared before her. She told her that there was but one cure for the cow. That was when the child would be going to bed that he would sneeze three times and not to say God bless to him at all. The boy sneezed twice and his stepmother did not say "God bless", but the third time he sneezed she said "God bless you child, without a mother". "God bless you, too" said the dead mother answering from some other corner of the house. "Go to bed now and you have saved my child, and your cow is saved too".

Collector: Bridie O’Reilly Informant: Mrs Hannah O’Reilly (B)

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The Haunted Horse A woman died near Killorglin a few years ago. Her husband was after buying a new horse and putting a set of shoes on it. On the night of the day on which she was buried he heard a sound as if the stable door were opening and the horse walking out. But he took no notice of it. When he got up in the morning he found the horse lathered with sweat and the set of shoes worn. He went out in the field and found signs of the horse’s hooves in a ring. This happened for three nights. Then he went to the priest who told him to take the wedding ring off his wife’s finger. He did; and it never happened again.

Collector: Pádraig Ó Loinghsigh Informant: Mrs Lynch (B)

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Glenbeigh Ghost There was an old man living in Glenbeigh long ago. He died and left his property to his son who was married. There was a parlour in the house and every night the ghost of the old man used to be seen dropping from the ceiling and standing in the middle of the floor. One day the son went to the market to hire a boy. The boy was such a good worker that his master said he would give him two men’s pay if he would stay in the parlour until the ghost came, and tell him what he said. When he went into the parlour on the following morning he found the boy dead.

Collector: Pádraig Ó Loinghsigh (B)

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Witches of Ballymalis Castle Once upon a time there was a man living near Ballymalis Castle, called Jeramiah Carter. One day he went to Killorglin to buy sheep. When he came home his wife told him that the cat was making mournful noise around the house all day. He went to hunt out the cat but she would not move. Next day his sheep strayed away and he did not know where to find them. At last he said he would go towards the Laune in search of them. When he reached Ballymalis Castle he heard a great wailing within. He waited for an hour, and at last a big cat came out on top of the castle. The cat spoke to him and said “tell my sister at home that her mother is dead.” He got his sheep and went home. When he reached home he told his wife what the cat had said. When the family cat heard that, she went away and was never seen again. It is said that those two cats were witches. They went to Ballymalis Castle and were there for many years after. I heard this story from my mother and she heard it from her uncle, who was seventy years old at that time.

Collector: Margaret Doyle Informant: Mrs Doyle (B)

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The Haunted Graveyard on Market Street There is only one graveyard in this parish (Killorglin) and it is called Droim a Bhaile. But long ago there was one where Mrs. Crowley's house and The National Bank are now. And those two houses have been haunted ever since.

One night the maid in Mrs. Crowley's was going to bed and she was the last out of the kitchen and when she was going up the stairs she looked down. She found that she had left on the light and she went down again. When she was coming up the stairs again she saw a man running up after her. The girl ran and when she got to her bedroom she fell in a weakness and died about a week after.

Informant: Siobhán Ní Foghladha Note: Droim a(n) Bhaile - Ridge of the town (B)

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Famous Irish Tales & Their Mid Kerry Connections

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Rossbeigh Beach and Tír na nÓg Rossbeigh Beach, just beyond Glenbeigh, is reputed to be where Oisín and Niamh Cinn Óir took to the sea on their white horse Embarr bound for Tír na nÓg. If you climb the hills overlooking Rossbeigh you will see a shimmering area of seascape not far from the coast. This is the gateway to Tír na nÓg.

In Irish mythology Tír na nÓg (Land of the Young) is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it.

Note: I have included the story of Tír na nÓg below for those of you unfamiliar with it. This story is one of the most famous in Irish folklore and every Irish child would have grown up with it. There are many books available which have lovely renditions of it.

The Story of Tír na nÓg Once upon a time there lived a great warrior named Oisín, son of legendary Fionn Mac Cumhaill, leader of a legendary band of warriors called the Fianna.

Once while out hunting Oisín and the Fianna saw a beautiful white horse in distance and on its back was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. Her hair was the colour of the sun and fell to her waist, and she wore a dress of palest blue studded with stars. She was surrounded by a golden light.

From their first meeting Niamh and Oisin were inseparable and a deep love grew between them. Niamh shared with him the origin of her birth the magical land of Tír na nÓg the land of youth where nobody ever got sick or died. She asked if he would return with her and he agreed. Her fine white horse Oscar galloped across silver seas into the magical land of Tír Na nÓg. As Niamh had promised, this was a land where nobody knew of sadness and everyone there lived forever. Together, Niamh and Oisín spent many happy times together, although there was a small part of Oisín’s heart that was lonely. He missed Ireland and longed to see his father and Fianna again.

Oisín begged Niamh to let him return to Ireland, but she was reluctant.

Although Oisín thought that only a few years had passed, it had in fact been 300 years back in Ireland, since, in the land of Tír Na nÓg, time slowed down.

Eventually, Niamh saw how much Oisín missed his family. She agreed to let him return. “Take Oscar,” she told him. “Do not get off this horse, and do not let your feet touch the ground, or else you will never be able to return to Tír Na 17

Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

nÓg again.” Oisín set off across seas and arrived in Ireland. When he got there, he could see that things had changed. The Fianna no longer hunted green hills, and the grand castle that once housed his family was crumbling and covered in ivy. As he was searching for someone familiar in the green hills, Oisín came across some old men, who were having difficulty trying to move a huge rock.

He leaned down from his horse to help them, but in doing so he lost his balance and fell from the horse. The moment Oisín touched Irish soil, he immediately aged 300 years that he had missed in Ireland. An old, frail man, he asked men he had stopped to help about his father Finn MacCool, and they told him that Finn had died many years before. Broken-hearted and many hundred years old, Oisín died soon after, but not before he shared legends and stories of Fianna, his father great Finn MacCool, and the magical land of eternal youth that is Tír Na nÓg.

Informant: Conor Browne (A)

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Diarmuid and Grianne Grainne was the daughter of the high king of Ireland and no woman could compare to her beauty. Many princes and chieftains wanted to marry her but Grainne was proud and she spurned one after another. Fionn MacCool, leader of the Fianna, wanted to marry again after his wife died and arrangements were made for him to marry Grainne. That night a great party was given in honour of them at Tara, but Grainne, disappointed when Fionn was older than her own father, fell in love with Diarmuid, one of Fionn’s warriors. Grainne gave a sleeping draught to everyone at the party except Diarmuid and tried to persuade him to take her away. But Diarmuid was loyal to Fionn so Grainne had to put a magic spell on him that if he did not go with her he would die.

Knowing Fionn would destroy him for taking her they left Tara and crossed the river Shannon. With Fionn on their trail, Fionn’s son Oisin warned him that Fionn was closing in on him, Diarmuid ignored his warning. Travelling south they hid in the caves near Glenbeigh for a while. Meanwhile, Fionn hired three soldiers with three poisonous hounds to capture Diarmuid which is when he finally gave up his loyalty to Fionn and he married Grainne.

Soon Grainne became pregnant. One night the couple heard a sound of a boar in the woods. Grainne, suspecting Fionn of treachery, could not dissuade Diarmuid from facing the boar. Diarmuid killed the boar with his sword but the fight left him dying. Fionn found him and Diarmuid asked for a drink of water which had curing properties if drunk off the hands of Fionn. Fionn allowed the water to slip through his fingers twice, until his grandson, Oscar, threatened to kill him but on his third attempt by the time Fionn had got the water to him Diarmuid had died.

Note: The stories of the Fianna are the most famous in Irish Folklore. Fionn McCool, often regarded as Ireland’s greatest warrior, often appears cruel or petty in tales. This is common throughout Irish Mythology – no hero is just good or bad. I think this is what led to their longevity as people could see them as humans and relate to them.

(A)

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Feast Days & Celebrations

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Skellig’s Day In Killorglin we would bring ropes into school on Skellig’s Day so we could capture and tie up the girls during sos (lunch break) or after school (they were usually allowed out early to make their escape). This custom mimicked the eloping of young couples to the Skellig Island to get married. The monks on the Skellig Island used the old Irish calendar while the mainland used the new Julian system. This meant that Lent started a ten days later on the Skellig thus providing couples with a last chance to wed before lent.

Informant: Conor Browne Note: I remember celebrating this when I was in sixth class in 1995. At that stage it was closely supervised by the teachers and was only allowed to take place during sos. My mother recalls been left tied to a tree in the woods on the Crow’s Road for a long time one year. This tradition had ended by the year 2000 due to health and safety concerns.

(A)

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Puck Fair’s Pagan Origin When St. Patrick came to Ireland to convert the people of Ireland to Christianity, he did not perform the whole task during his life time and many districts remained in pagan darkness for many years after his death. These pagans dwelt chiefly in remote and mountainous regions. These mountaineers were given up to robbery, murder and outlawry. These outlaws lived in the mountains west of Killorglin and the goat was their sole support and means of subsistence. They made clothing from his skin, they ate his flesh at all seasons, drank his milk. They elevated him into the position of a "God" or protector. A fair was held in or near the place where Killorglin village now stands in those far off days. They gave their god which was the he-goat the place of honour by placing a member of his family on a raised platform. This custom still persists even to this day. A great annual Fair is held in Killorglin and the he-goat is placed on a pedestal twenty feet high and the fair is called Puck Fair. People of this locality come in large numbers to the fair and dance and sing and amuse themselves in many ways at the fair. It lasts for three days, the first day is for the gathering, the second is for the fair, and the third is for scattering day.

Many reasons are advanced for the exhibition of the he-goat in his place of honour at Puck Fair, but I think that this is the most reasonable of them all.

Collector: Mícheál Ó Scannaill Informant: Cornelius Cotter (B)

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Puck Fair – Origins Part 2 In the days of Cromwell the people were fleeing from their homes in terror of Cromwell and his soldiers. An old goat ran wild from the mountains into Killorglin to give the people warning that Cromwell and his soldiers were approaching. The people had just enough time to flee from their homes before Cromwell and his soldiers came. From that time onwards the goat is honoured on the 10th, 11th & 12th of August as "King of the Kingdom of Kerry."

Collector: Máire Ní Chéitinn Note: Puck Fair is Ireland’s most famous Lughnasadh festival. These fests where once held all over Ireland to honour the God Lugh of the Tuatha dé Danann and the beginning of the harvest season.

(B)

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Biddies I got the following stories from my grandmother Mrs Anne Sullivan (nee Eagar) who was born about seven years before the famine in Culleeney More Beaufort and died about ten years ago:For the past forty or fifty years at least, the custom on St Bridget's Night by which the young men of this district dress up in old white robes, tall hats, masks etc and go from house to house with a little " biddy " gathering money for a dance or porter ball, has not altered. When I was a young lad I enjoyed seeing the "biddies" coming into the house on St Bridget's Night, but I always noticed that my grandmother had little use for them - in fact she would keep them out if she could. When I grew older I enquired why she disliked them so much, and she used to say "God be with the old times when people were not as mean as they are now" She explained that in her father's and grandfather's time the biddies went round from house to house dressed in the same manner almost but they only asked for 'something for the biddy' in the houses of the better off people. As these people understood the old custom well, they gave generously in money and kind. The biddies then divided the 'gather' and distributed it evenly between the very poor & needy of that district. They wore masks on their faces when visiting the poor people so as not to hurt their pride - the only thing they had left.

Informant: Mrs Anne Sullivan Note: I think Mrs Sullivan would be very proud of the Biddies today and the amount of money they have collected for the projects and charities in their various townlands.

(B)

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The Strawboys Shrove Tuesday Night was the Strawboys' night up to 80 or 90 years ago. They young men of the district dressed themselves over their ordinary clothes with súgáns of straw. They wore tall hats made of wheat straw and had their faces masked. A "batch" of Strawboys consisted of from 12 to 18 young men, one of whom acted as captain. The captain carried a big stick; and also a bottle without a bottom or a cow horn as a bugle. One of the “batch” had some musical instrument, fiddle, concertina, or melodeon. They first visited the houses of those who married during Shrove, wished the newly-wed joy and happiness, played a few tunes, sang songs & departed quietly. Next they visited the homes of those marriageable men & women who had been "match making" during Shrove & who failed to settle the match. They attempted to drag these disappointed ones out of their houses to a waiting horse cart & rail and take them to Skelligs. Often they succeeded in bringing them a mile or two from their own homes & letting them walk home - Everyone enjoyed the fun but the poor victims. Skelligs was the supposed destination because Shrove lasted much longer there than on the mainland. The local poet would previously have made up a ballad called the Skelligs list, containing not too complementary remarks, about the 'eligibles' who failed to get married & who had probably tried hard to find a partner. This was sung in the house of the 'eligible' or outside the door - if the Strawboys failed to get in. Sometimes the satirical & sarcastic lines of the Skelligs List caused much trouble between neighbours, but mostly always it was taken in good parts by all, and enjoyed as an old custom. Later on when the wedding feast of music song dance & drink became a custom at the home of the newly married pair on the night of the marriage, the Strawboys were treated to a share of the whiskey and porter when they visited the house that night. On account of this the number of 'batches' gradually increased so that lately Strawboys are not left into the wedding dance at all. Thus what were once very simple old customs, have been so abused that they are gradually dying out Informant: Mrs Anne Sullivan (B) 25

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May Day Traditions from the 1800s Long ago on "May Day" the people used carry a large bunch of summer-tree leaves and decorate the houses with them.

They also used to decorate their horses with flowers and green ribbons.

No woman would sell milk on that day without putting salt in it.

No fishermen would go out fishing on that day.

They would always have hanging upon doors baskets of flowers which the children would pick.

Long ago the young girls of the place would go out early in May Day morning looking for snails: if they would get them they would take them home and put them in a plate of flour - the snails in crawling would write the name of their future husbands.

Collector: Caitlín Ní Dhúbhdha Notes: Fairies are very active on May Day, Bealtaine. Decorating your homestead and animals was a way to prevent the fairies from interfering with them. Cows were particularly susceptible and could stop producing milk. Like all quarter days divination was practiced as the veil between the two worlds was supposed to be at its thinnest on these days.

(B)

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Folklore

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Miracle of Cromane Some years ago a very poor woman lived in a place west of the town of Killorglin called Cromane. She hadn't anything at all to feed her children and she didn't know what to do. So milk sprang up off the ground and as soon as the children got better the milk went away again.

Collector: Siobhán Ní Loinghsigh Note: During Famine times Cromane and the coastal areas of Mid Kerry grew in population as people left the land to forage for food on the coastline.

Unfortunately hunger was common in Mid Kerry for many generations and this is reflected in the folklore of the area.

(B)

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Patrick's Pot When people went to town on St Patrick's Day and took drink they called it their "Patrick's Pot." Once an old woman went to Killorglin and she had a good drink. When she was coming home she was falling over heaps of stones on the roadside and every time she fell she said "Oh Wisha, St Patrick what I have suffered for you."

Collector: E. Foley Note: To be honest I only included this story as it brings a smile to my face every time I read it.

(B)

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Crowley the Fairy Doctor Long ago a man named Crowley lived about three miles behind Killorglin. He was famous all over Kerry for bone-setting. At that time, there was a small boy in the townland of Barleymount, and one day he fell from a horse's back and broke his two legs. His parents sent for Crowley to come to the house, and he came in the evening. He took the little boy into a room and closed the door. He would not let anyone see what he was going to do. At last the child’s father went to the window to see what the man was doing. The man saw him looking in the window and said he would not cure the child. The child's father went away from the window and all he could see was sweet-briar and the man saying magic words over the child. After about an hour the man came out of the room and went away. The child was as good as ever next day.

Informant: Donnca Ó Laoghaire Note: I included this story because I have always been fascinated by Fairy Doctors. Fairy doctors had a deep relationship with both the fairy world and our own. They were called when a patient was thought to suffer from any magically induced ailments such as fairy-stroke, fairy wind, or the Evil Eye. The doctor worked mainly with charms and potions made of herbs of which they had an unnatural knowledge. Most fairy doctors worked in private as it could affect the charm if witnessed by anyone but the patient. They could not take coin for their work but instead where given gifts of gratitude. However if a potion had being created it could only be exchanged for silver. Fairy doctors would also tend to animals as they too where prone to magic.

(B)

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Never put your treasure in a Swan and other Life lessons Once upon a time there lived an old man near Killorglin. His wife was dead. He had a lot of money and he did not know where to hide it. One day he was walking along the bank of the river Laune and he saw a swan dead as he thought. He picked her up and saw an empty space inside in her. He thought he would put his treasure into her and bury her in the garden. He did so and after one day the swan rose out of the earth and flew away with his money.

The old man got so angry that he died. Ever since, the swan comes to visit the place where she was buried in the garden.

Collector: Peggie Kelliher Informant: Mrs Michael Kelliher (B)

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Pisoegs It was my father Jeremiah Hogan of Listry, Beaufort, Co Kerry who told me about those Pisoegs. He is now sixty-years of age.

• It is considered unlucky to move into a new dwelling-place on a Monday, or on the thirteenth of the month.

• It is unlucky to dig a grave on a Monday, and therefore one sod is dug on Sunday.

• It is unlucky to take home the remainder of the holy water with which the coffin was blessed.

• It is unlucky to let anyone of the same name as the dead person dig his grave.

• It is unlucky for the bride to look into a mirror before starting for the church.

• It is the sign of a wake to see a sop of hay hanging off a hen.

• It is lucky to leave a towel on the door always because it is supposed to keep away sickness.

• It is unlucky to go matchmaking after attending a funeral.

• If a person went into a house where a churn was being made, he should give the barrel a few twists, fearing he would take away the butter.

Collector: Mary Hopkins Informant: Mrs Morrisroe (B)

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The Big Wind In the year 1839, on the sixth of January the big wind occurred in Ireland. The big wind lasted all through the night. On that night an old man who lived in a bog hut near Keel died and the people of Keel went to the wake. They were only a short time there when the storm arose, and they became terrified. Soon afterwards they left, and when they got outside the wind was raging and howling. Some of the men were blown away with the wind, and the rest had to creep home on their hands and feet over fields and ditches. When they got home in the morning, their houses were thrown down, and their stables badly damaged. The hay and oats were swept away by the wind. Strange to say the little hut in which the man was dead was not even touched by the wind.

(B)

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Locations & Monuments

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Rossbeigh’s Secret City Not far distant from the town of Killorglin there is a place which is called Rossbeigh. Long ago four men went fishing to Rossbeigh. It happened that the tide was very low, and they waited until it rose. They were so tired of waiting that they fell asleep. When they awoke from their slumbers, they found themselves in a beautiful city. One of the men was anxious for a smoke and he said "I must go into one of those houses to light my pipe." In the house he went to, there was a young woman and an old man living in it. The old man was blind. The fisherman spent a long time talking to him, but the woman told the fisherman on no account are you to go near him. Then the old man asked him to give him a piece of bread that they had in their country, and the woman told the fisherman to give him the griddle. The old man started eating the griddle, and he said "That is very hard bread ye have." Then he told the fisherman to give him his hand, for to give him a welcome for giving him the bread. The woman told him to give him the tongs, and he took the tongs, and twisted it as if it were a piece of cord. The woman told the man to run as fast as he could to the boat, and just as he was going into it he found himself surrounded by a large river. Rossbeigh was once supposed to be a beautiful city, and was drowned by water. It is said that this city is still under the water.

Collector: Micheál Ó Neill Informant: Mrs Elizabeth Mangan (B)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Cnochán Árd Dearg.

Finn Mac Cool and another giant had a contest. They were jumping off a high mountain in the MacGillicuddy's Reeks. Finn's opponent had a sister and she travelled all the way across the Laune to Dromin for sand to put under her brother's feet. She had the sand in her apron, but when she reached Meanus she heard that her brother had jumped down on a stone off the mountain and he was killed. She was so grieved that she let the sand fall and it formed a hill there called Cnocan-Ard Dearg. The hole left where she dug out the sand is called Poll Dearg. It is about the size of the hill in circumference, and the sand in similar to that of the hill. The land all round it is flat & level.

Poll Dearg a Dhuire About a mile east of my house, there is a large hole in the earth. It is about two hundred feet deep about four hundred feet in circumference. It is called "Poll Dearg a Dhuire" which means "The Den of the Deer." In by-gone days this place was used for keeping deer, by English Land-lords. It was also a great hiding place for people during the Black and Tan period. It is said that a fairy woman took the earth away in her apron and let it fall a little distance from Killorglin.

The place that she let it fall is known as "Cnocán Árd Dearg" which means the Red High Hill. Poll Dearg a Dhuire is to day the home of foxes and rabbits.

Today people cannot walk into this hole, if they did the earth would swallow them up. The bottom of this hole is called a quagmire.

Collector: Micheál Ó Neill Informant: Mrs Elizabeth Mangan Note: There is another story regarding Cnocán Árd Dearg which I find far more compelling. It is said that a Viking King and his longboat were buried under the hill in an elaborate funeral ritual. The red soil of the hill is not found on the western bank of the Laune so it must have been transferred here from Poll Dearg a Dhuire to construct the burial mound. Thankfully Cnocán Árd Dearg is a protected monument so has remained untouched but I hope in the future that ground penetrating radar can solve this mystery for us. (B)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

The Farrantoreen Stone The ‘Coptic Stone’ as is situated in marshy land 300 yards on the eastern side of the Laune Bridge. It has long been a part of Killorglin’s folk history that the Knights Templars were in evidence and was said to have had a centre near the Old Church of Ireland on Bridge Street. Another theory put forward is that the Stone is of Merovingian origin. In fact Killorglin Castle had connections with Jeffory De Marisco, a Norman lord who seemingly had Templar connections.

This fits neatly into the scheme of things as there is a distinct relationship between the Merovingians and the Knights Templars.

Informant: Tom ‘Totty’ O’Sullivan (A)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

The Piper’s Stone at Ceannovree Long long ago there lived in Muingaphuca an old man whose name was Diggin.

Diggin was known throughout the barony for his great knowledge of pipe music. He was known as Diggin The Piper. We are told that one night he went to a raffle which was held in a house in the townland of Reen which is about one mile to the north of the town of Killorglin. On his return from the raffle he took a shortcut through the townland of Ceannovree. As he was passing through the knot in Ceannovree he thought he heard enchanting music. He stopped and listened to the beautiful fairy music, and whilst doing so concealed himself underneath a rock which was on top of Ceannovree. Whilst concealed, a fairy came the way. "Oh just listening to that beautiful music" said Diggin. "That music which you hear" said the fairy "belongs to another world and any human being who dares to imitate it will pay the penalty." Diggin had a good ear for music and understood the fairy music but was told by the fairy that his third attempt to play the same tune would prove fatal to him. At the next raffle to which Diggin went he played the fairy music and those who heard it became spellbound. Sometime after he played it at a wedding with like results and shortly after when Diggin had taken intoxicating drink at a raffle he forgot the threat that the fairy gave and decided to play the tune once more. To the astonishment of the crowd who were present at the raffle, Diggin was no more when the tune was finished. The fairy had his revenge and up to this day the stone under which Diggin hid himself whilst listening to the fairy music is known as the pipers stone. It can be seen yet and is on Cahillane’s farm in Counovree.

Collector: Nora Joy Note: Ceannovree is still known for its fine musicians such as the Fiddler Cahillane’s and John Whelan who plays bagpipes in the Laune District Pipe Band. Each year they meet at the Piper’s Stone to play songs.

(B)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Holy Wells We had two holy wells here in Glenbeigh one still in use St Finians and the other disappeared when they were laying the railway in 1890 called Tobar na Cille. We also have a fairy cairn on top of Curra mountain Leacht na Sidhe not too far from the fairy forest on the road to Rossbeigh.

Tobarkeel Holy Well This heavily overgrown, stone-lined spring well is located a short distance west of Glenbeigh village. Traces of a small wall-surround survive. The well is dedicated to St. Gregory, the patron saint of the parish, whose feast day was the 12th of March. Rounds, which are a sequence of prayers said while walking in a specific pattern, were also carried out at the well on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. Each holy well would have traditionally been known to cure various illnesses.

Informant: John Houlihan (A)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Droichead na Spideóige About a mile to the west of the village of Beaufort flows a pretty streamlet between two hills. This stream is about two miles long and flows in a northern direction into the River Laune. It is known as the River Spideog and the bridge where the Killorglin-Beaufort road crosses it is called Spideog Bridge or sometimes Droichead na Spideóige. A fantastic tale is told as to how the river and bridge got their names.

Once upon a time three chieftains of this district were very short of money.

Their names were O'Sullivan, O'Donoghue and McElligot. One day the three met at the bridge to discuss the best means of getting ready money. During the discussions the devil appeared to them and promised them plenty money on condition that they would deliver their bodies up to him at that place a year from that day. They all agreed to the bargain. A year from that day they met again at the same place but the chieftains were very reluctant in handing over their bodies. The devil said that he would give them a chance. He ordered them to run a race from the bridge up the hill to Paddy Breen's house and whoever should be last in the race should go with him. McElligot who was lame ran badly and of course was last and just as he reached the top of the hill the devil made an attempt to grab him but only caught McElligot's shadow and McElligot shouted "Keep what you have". Ever since every person of the name McElligot is supposed to have no shadow. The devil gave O'Sullivan an extra task to do since he had received more money. He ordered him to fill a sieve of water from the river. O'Sullivan tried in vain to fill the sieve and at last was about give up in despair when a robin spoke from a branch overhead and told him to plaster the sieve inside with mud and that then he would succeed.

O'Sullivan did so and succeeded in filling the sieve with water and thus foiled the devil. Ever since the bridge has the name Droichead na Spideóige.

Informant: Diarmuid Ó Cobhthaigh (B)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

The Fort at Gort na Sgarraidge There is a fort at the other side of the Laune in a place called Gort na Sgarraidge. This is a very large fort with fortifications around it and a cave in the middle of it. The fort is in Breen's farm and is supposed to have been built by the Danes in days gone by. Music is heard in the fort every night of the year at a certain time. The fort has twenty-four rooms in it with a hidden entrance.

The fortifications around the fort are eighteen feet high and one acre of land filled all-round the fort. There are white thorn trees and many kinds of shrubs growing on the fence all round.

Collector: Dermot Connor (B)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

The Otherworldly Cow - Leaba an bó.

In the time of the famine in a very poor district about a mile to the west of Beaufort, where there were thousands of people along the mountain side with very little to feed them, milk was very scarce in the district. One morning, about four o'clock, there appeared a beautiful red and white cow with a big udder of milk. The poor people came from all over the place with buckets for her milk, and she would fill every bucket that would be put under her, no matter how many would come or how big their bucket was, she would fill them all. She fed the poor people of the place until one day an old witch from the mountain came with a sieve and began to milk her into it and of course as fast as the milk was getting into the sieve, it was going through it again. The witch kept on milking for two hours. The cow turned around to see if her vessel was full, and to her very great sorrow she saw all her milk flowing on the ground, she gave one mournful bellow and fell down dead, ever since the place is called Leaba an Bó.

Informant: Jeremiah D. O Sullivan Note: The Goddess Bridgid was raised by an Otherworldly Cow who was white with red ears after she was abandoned. It is interesting that a district so synonymous with Bridgid would have the same saviour. ‘The Goddess Brigid was born on the 1st day of February which became her sacred day of Imbolg.

She was born with flames around her forehead just as the sun came over the horizon. Now the Morrigan not being the most nurturing of goddesses, the infant Brigid was suckled by another worldly cow, white, with red ears and grew up in the other world tending to an apple orchard whose bees moved between this world and the other world’. An effigy of this cow is carried each year in Biddy’s Day parade in Killorglin.

(B)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

Titanic Avenue Marsh Lane, between Houlihan’s house and the KDYS on Lower Bridge Street in Killorglin, once led to an enclave of homes which stretched all the way to Coffey’s by the River Laune. In one of these houses there lived a young man called Henry Harte. Henry and his pregnant wife wanted to give their soon to be born child the best advantage in life so it was decided that they would emigrate to America. Henry took an opportunity with the White Star Line. They would provide him with free passage to America if he worked on the ship during the voyage. Henry was delighted and quickly agreed. He would go to New York, find work and when he had established himself he would send for his family to join him. Unfortunately for Henry he was assigned to the famous Titanic steam liner and was drowned when it sank on the 15th April 1912. His child, a boy called Henry was born one month later on the 14th May 1912 and is buried in Dromavalla graveyard.

Informant: Pa Houlihan (A)

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Folklore and Mythology of the Reeks District

End Note I finished this small collection with this story by my grandfather Pa Houlihan.

He recorded everything about the people and places he came across in his everyday life. Pa saw great value in the ordinary and how time made everything more precious. I would encourage you all to write down your own family stories and to talk to older family members about their memories as today’s life is tomorrow’s lore.

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