School: An Tulach Mór (roll number 6293)

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   “There was a man one time named "Willie the Wisp" and he was a blacksmith. He gave himself up to the devil.”

   

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   were passing a public house Willie said that he would like a bottle of whiskey but he had no money. The devil said that he would make a shilling of himself and go into the purse. Willie went into the public house and got the whiskey. He gave the purse to the shop - man, but he could not get the shilling out of the purse. He gave back the purse to Willie. Willie went home and put the purse under his pillow and went to bed. He could get any sleep that night because the purse was leaping under his head. He got out of bed and heated an iron in the fire, and he put the iron down on the purse, and began hammering the purse with a hammer. The devil told him to let him out, and he would never bother him again. Willie let him out of the purse, and he went out of the door in a blaze of fire. When Willie went to the gates of (hell) Heaven St Peter would not let him in because of all the badness he had committed. Then he went down to the gates of Hell, but the old devil would not let him in because he would upset them all. So he gave him some straws lit and told him to go out about the fields with the straws. That is the reason lights are seen at night always running across the fields, caorans, and mountains.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)
         1. Will-o’-the-wisp (~74)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Patrick Mc Hugh

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   11

   Informant

   Andy Mc Hugh

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   65

   Address

   Ardara, Co. Donegal