School: Tara Hill (roll number 13689)

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1. Tales of 98

   

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   Tales of '98 Cont'd.
   The James McDonald referred to on previous page & a friend of his by name Bolger were out one night very late. It was in the troubled times of '98. When they were returning home they decided that it would be safer to take different roads home Bolger taking the fields & McDonald the road. Before they parted they promised each other by way of joke that whichever of them died first would back & visit the other. The yeomen met Mc Donald that night & shot him. But Bolger reached home safely.
   Some time later Bolger was returning home after his evenings diversion in a neighbour's house when he recognised the ghost of McDonald. I think that it was on Gallows' Hill he met. Anyway he spoke first which of course he should not have done as I suppose when you speak first the spirit or ghost gets power over you. The old people always said that you should never speak to anyone at night if you did not know him. But Bolger spoke & Mc Donald said he had come back as he had promised. He said that he wanted a Mass that Bolger should go & get the Priest to say a Mass for him. In case that people woud not believe that he had come back his soul was in distress he gave Bolger a proof. He asked him to take him by the hand which Bolger did + left the track of his five fingers on it. The spirit then disappeared. When he arrived home late he became very ill + being told his mother knew that he had met McDonald. He never recovered completely but he

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
         1. 1798 (~642)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Miss Mooney

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Inch, Co. Wicklow