School: Ballymahon (B.) (roll number 12690)

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1. A Fairy Fort

   

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   There is a fairy fort in Rathmore Mr Skelly's land. It is circular in shape and has a row of trees round it. The fairies come out of it at twelve o'clock every night. There is music and dancing heard in it. One evening at six o'clock a man named Pat Cowan was near the fort looking for an ass he lost. He kept walking about the field looking for the ass till nine o'clock, and it was dark then. He walked into the middle of the fort and immediately everything changed before him. He found himself walking on a gold bridge with gold water under it, and at the side of the bridge were lovely silver trees, and the fairies sitting under the trees eating and drinking. Pat Cowan was a great musician. When the fairies saw Pat they took out a fiddle from a box and said "Play Paddy". And Paddy wouldn't play. They were trying to persuade him for a good while to play, but he wouldn't. Then they asked him to dance, but he wouldn't. They then handed him a glass of wine to drink but he wouldn't drink it. They were craving him to do something for them, for a good while, till it was coming on to morning and getting bright, and all off a sudden everything

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. place-space-environment
      1. legendary and spiritual places (~158)
         1. fairy forts (~5,616)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Tom Skelly

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballymahon, Co. Longford

   Informant

   Patrick Cowan

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   68

   Address

   Tang, Co. Westmeath