School: Urbal (roll number 13170)
- Location:
- Urbal, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Eamonn de Faoite
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1038, Page 357
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- XML “Jim Byrne and the Crock of Gold”
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- Many years ago there was a very lazy boy. He tried to shirk his work at school as well as at home. As he grew up he got lazier until he was known as "Lazy Jim Byrne". He got married, to everyone's surprise, to the most hard working girl in the country side, named Jane Walker. He wanted her to go and live with his mother but she refused. She said she wanted a home of her own and would also like a piece of land. They went to live in a cottage, but owing to Jim's laziness could not pay the rent. They were always changing cottages and the neighbours got tired helping him. At last he was moving to a cottage about 3 miles away by road but only half the distance by the fields. He chose the later[?] way. Tying all the furniture in a rope he set out but soon got tired. When nearing the cottage he saw a wee woman with a red cape sitting on the ditch and a small crock sunk in the ground.
He thought it too much bother to get out of the rope and said he would come back as soon as he had got some tea and rested himself. When he told his wife she hurried him back for the crock but when he got there, gone was the wee woman and the crock. His wife and all the neighbours laughed at him. They always cast up to him about losing the gold by laziness. When he went out he always saw the hole and at last he got filled with remorse(continues on next page)
