School: Killmallock Convent School

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1. Owen Cronin Wickerworker and the Fairies (continued)

   

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   load of turf. Now Owen never went for a load of turf in his life nor cut a sod. He used to tackle the donkey at night, and then go to bed for himself, leaving the donkey in the yard. In the morning the turf was landed outside the door - brought by the fairies, of course!

   At that time the threshing machine was invented and like many a man good at the flail Owen disliked them. One day he met a farmer, McDonough by name, with a machine and four horses. "The Devil will have that before night" said Owen and he had! Just before dinner the machine was blown to pieces and went in all directions. Not a bit of it could be found. The fairy moat was very near the field where the accident occurred.

   Several women were stolen away in child-birth by the fairies and one of them was seen there afterwards. One woman came to her husband and told him to come to the moat and when the fairies would pass him on horseback that she would be on the fourth horse and that he should drag her quickly off the horse. She couldn't stay with him that night. The man's name was Richard Byce and they say that his three wives were taken from him one by one in childbirth by wicked fairies. This woman's name was Peggy Dren before she married. Her husband failed to pull her off the horse and she was often seen in the moat after that.

   A sister's son of Own was also carried away by the fairies. He was a great flute-player and after this

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Kathleen O' Connor

   Gender

   Female