School: Castletowngeoghegan (B.) (roll number 2092)
- Location:
- Castletown Geoghegan, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: T. Ó Conaire
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0734, Page 272
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- XML “Bird-Lore”
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On this page
- (continued from previous page)Corncrake, Waterhen, Kingfisher, Sparrow, Jackdaw, Crane, Curlew, Seagull and Grouse.
These are some of those birds that migrate, the Cuckoo, the Swallow, Wild geese, and Wild duck. The magpie builds her nests in a thorny bush or on top of a tall tree. In the inside, it is lined with wool and hair. On the outside it is covered with thorns and has a small hole on the side to that the birds could get in and out of the nest. The magpie lays from six to ten eggs and she sits on them for three or four weeks. After that, the young birds come out. It is said that if you rob a birds nest, you will have fourteen years bad luck. If you hit a swallow with a stone or kill a swallow, the cow will give a bucket of blood instead of milk.
It is said that when Our Lord was dying that a Robin came to where he was hanging on the cross and she tried to take the crown off thorns off Our Lord's Head and a Drop Of Our Lords Blood go on her breast and that is how she got the red breast.
If the wild geese come early and are flying very high, it is a sign of very severe weather. When a swan files over a house, it is a sign of rain.
- Collector
- C. Corcoran
- Gender
- Male
- Informant
- Mrs Devlin
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Keelbeg, Co. Westmeath
