School: Dún Gar (Frenchpark) (roll number 3961)

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1. South of Portahard are Ráth Fhallaigh and Cloigearnach (continued)

   

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   - it was a red one - round his neck, and his gun on his shoulder. We were in our bare feet. We were shivering with cold and with terror. But my terror was as nothing to poor Johnny Callaghan's. He knew that what he was doing was 'agin' the law as made by the only lawgivers in Ireland then. He was
   only slightly older than I was. He was twelve I was ten. He began to cry and though I didn't then know why, I began to do the same. Batteen came up to him, struck him and kicked him and knocked him down on the flooded road. He then began pushing the donkey with the stock of his gun till he pushed it down the four foot drop into the flooded field. When poor John saw this he scrambled up and began to roar in agony, but Batteen took him body and bones and threw him
   into the four feet of water after the donkey. Then thinking my screams
   and those of poor John - who managed to get a grip on the ditch and was dragging himself out - would attract attention to himself, with a sound parting kick to me he sauntered slowly on his way. The weight of the cleeves kept the
   poor donkey under water and it wasn't seen till the flood had gone.
   By then poor little John Callaghan had gone too, gone to a better land
   than Ireland then was, done to death by the

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Languages

   Irish

   English

   Location

   Raheely, Co. Roscommon