School: St John of God Convent, Rathdowney (roll number 16203)

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1. Moate Rath - Hidden Treasure (continued)

   

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   gave himself up to the power of the devil. He was believed to have been minding the gold, and if strangers travelled the road after a certain time, they were waylaid by him. A man was killed by him and the evil spirit was banished by a Priest. The legend, however, claims that Blackney, as he was called, went into a far yard where threshing or rather flailing operations were in progress. He said he came from the Moate where there were ten sovereigns to every grain of barley in the barn.

   From time to time attempts have been made to recover the treasure, but so far without success. The owners of the land tried to dig away part of the hill and after a hard days toil they returned home. When they came back in the morning, the bushes and clay were back as if they had never been disturbed. Lights were seen hovering around the rath.

   On the West side of the Moate a silver bell of a rare kind, is said to be hidden in a well. Two of Cromwell's soldiers plundered St Kiernan's Church, beside the tower, and took away the bell. They left it down in the bog and it sank in the marshy ground. The soldiers did not wait to recover it and the well where it sank is now covered with rushes and its exact location is not rightly known. People have tried to find the well because the story says

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Harte

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   17