444Now it is believed locally that a ghost cannot cross water, so when the two on horseback were approaching a small stream which still crosses the road near Ballyvistea Cross, the ghost spoke to Mike and said she was getting off the horse. "That is a powerful beast you have", says Petticoat Loose. Mike was tongue-tied. "Your horse had two tons weight on his back", says she, "and I thank you for the lift. Now, do you see that house over there"? says she, pointing to a nearby cabin of gabling repute, "well, the men playing cards there are arguing about a card which is missing. Go in there and tell them they will find the missing card under the table."! With those words she disappeared. Mike had not spoken one word in his terror. He now noticed the his horse was lathered in sweat and shivering all over. He crawled toward the house, staggered in the door, and there he found the men arguing fiercely about this card. He calmed them and told them where the card was. They looked under the table and what did they see but a foxy-haired man with horns, burning eyes and cloven feet! Never again did the gamblers frequent that house. On the following morning, when Mike went to get his horse to do some work, he found the poor animal dead in his stable. He thought of the two tons weight..................

The remains of an old sweat-house is in Boulattin. Tour still. It is opposite Tim Kennedy's, Glencrow, on the south side of Keeper. It is still in good repair. This was a famous one & was used up to 60 years ago. An old man named Tim Ryan (Cooper) Tour remembers this well & sweated in it several times. This house had many advantages - it was well sheltered, there was a good spring of water near it, it was well surrounded by heath ferns, & grass which were necessary to heat it up. It started in May, & all along during Summer there was a fire in it almost every day.
There was another sweat house on Cully hill but not having the advantage of the one in Boolattin it was not as much used.

supposed to be effected for rheumatic pains, in the Sweat House. A large fire was lit inside, and allowed to burn itself out, thus making the wa(lls) red hot. The ashed were then taken out, and the patient was put inside, and let seat. The person then came out, and jumped into the flowing brook beside it, in order to wash off the perspiration. This would be repeated until the house became quite cool. The ceremony had to be performed three times, before the patient was supposed to be cured. It is also said, this performance was done in order to reduce fat. The Old Chapel, and Sweat House, is most interesting to me, as it is situated on a portion of my Uncle's farm.
There is also situated in the locality two "forts" commonly known as Rahins. Both are situated beside the "Kings River", they are the remains of Churchyards of long ago, and are now covered with bogland bushes, similar to a "Fox-cover". On different occasions, Fairy music and dancing was heard by neighbouring people whom I know. I never heard this music, although I live about one hundred yards, from one of them at present.

One dark night about twelve o'clock a fellow was coming home from playing cards and he had to go over a lonesome old road. As he was going over the old road he noticed an old woman crossing the lane before him.
She was all dressed in white, he said to her "Who are you are what takes you here." She held down her head and muttered to herself. The man began to sweat and as he looked behind him, and he saw the lights of a car coming and he stepped up on the ditch to let it pass and as it passed him it disappeared at once.
The man turned back and ran to a neighbours house and told them what he had seen. The man of the house went with him. As they were going they both saw the old woman again pass by. He left the man in his own house and went back. The boy who was afraid told his story to his mother and she told him not to be out late any more.

Here are the names of some fields.There is a field in Cornacrew called "crann an alluis". It was so called because there was a little sweat house built in this field. A story is told about that house.Once upon a time a woman was sweating herself in the house. Somebody found her in it and noticed that she had a wad of straw stuck in the door to keep out the air. This person set fire to the straw and then left. The woman was almost burned to death.

There was a house in Drumary belonging to a man named Allelby. The house is in ruins now. The used to churn & as soon as they'd start a woman would come in & ask for something. When she'd get anything she could take the butter of the churn.
One night they started to churn and they engaged all the strong men of the neighbourhood to help them. Ned Mc Kenna, who died recently & was near 100 years of age, was one of those invited to help. They churned for hours, until the sweat poured off them & they had to take off their coats. Still no butter came.
Then they went to see a man near Castehill & told him about it. He said they should stuff all the holes in the house & start the churn. They did so but forgot to stuff the keyhole & didn't the woman come in thro' it. And again they couldn't get any butter of it.

Culdaff Ghosts told by Michael McConalogue.
About one hundred and fifty years the people around Culdaff were afraid to venture out late at night on account of the Culdaff House Ghosts. These ghosts used to go along the roads on horseback at terrible speed. They could also be seen leaping in and out windows in Culdaff House. The noise of the horses' hooves on the road could be heard as they galloped along for miles around. In the morning when the labouring men would go to the stable some of the horses used to be lying bathed in sweat and unable to rise unless assisted. A horse had a very short life about Culdaff at this time.
People believed that it was on accounts of landlord's rounding up Catholic children and educating them in a Protestant school - the ruins of which is still to be seen close to the Culdaff house.

Sweat House
The most ancient ruins about this locality are the old Chapels - and the "sweat-house".
Long ago when the priests were forbidden to say Mass in the Church at Valleymount, they built a Church in Carrigacurra and the people used to go up there to Mass.
The "Sweat house" is built on Thomas Mahon's land in Carrigacurra. It is built of granite and roofed with long flags. It is square outside and round inside.
The "Sweat-house" was supposed to cure Rheumatism, headaches and other pains.
The cure was effected by lighting a fire and let burn itself out. Then the ashes were taken out and the patient went in and sweated. Then he came out and bathed in

Local Cures
A Sweat House
Killen, Aghadrumsee. Co FermanaghThere is a house in the townland of Esknadarragh known as a sweating house. This place resembled a vault more than a house. It was situated on a side of a hill and so arranged that its flat stone roof was level with the surface of the ground. It had a floor of stone and was made perfectly air tight when required. This house was heated to a very high temperature by building a lot of turf on the floor of the house and lighting them. The fire was allowed to burn for hours. When they wanted to lessen the fire they closed the door and cut out the air off it. Soon, the fire became weak. They then spread a lot of green rushes on the floor which put out the fire and gave off a hot vapour. The person to be sweated was stripped of his garments. He was placed in the vault and the door was closed on him. There he had to remain until he was taken out

scorn rode home.
As he was passing a place called Letterdive he noticed a calf floating in the air on one side of him and the most peculiar thing about it was it had no legs whatsoever. The landlord got off his horse with fear and he entered a house near by as though for a drink. The "bean an tige" was inside and she noticed the cold sweat on his face. She asked him what was the matter with him but he made no reply whatsoever. He left for his horse again but he was not gone far when the calf without the legs appeared once more. He made the horse gallop but the calf still kept at his side and when he stopped the calf stopped also.
At last with the dint of fright he beat his horse and closed his eyes until he arrived at his own house. Then he jumped off his mount and he ran to his bedroom. When he entered his bedroom he fell into a dead faint from which he never recovered. In the morning he was found dead with a print off a hoof on his chest. After he was buried a calf was seen in his room and around his house. That man paid dearly for evicting the poor widow and her family.

143StoryIn Ballinrobe some years ago there lived a man named Michael Connolly who was in the habit of taking drink and being out late at night and sometimes he visited the neighbours' houses.One night as his father was beginning to get uneasy he went to one of his neighbour's houses and knocked at the door. The man of the house was on his knees saying his prayers and he did not like answering knocks at a late (house) hour so at last he said "Who is there" and the man said Michael Connolly, open the door quickly." The man got up off his and opened the door and Michael was pouring sweat.The man of the house asked him what was wrong and he said that the "cóisde bodhar" had passed and that there would be a death on the street the next morning. Next

A man named Mullinafey of Castlebawn built the first Sweat-house. - In return for his services he received, - "An Old Guinea" = 22/9

In the townland of Cloonfannon stand the ruins of a sweat house in the middle of a fort in a field belonging

In the farmhouse itself preperations for the great event were in progress for days before.
Between cleaning, and baking and boiling the good woman of the house and her three comely daughters were kept as busy as nailers. When the big night came they felt they were amply repaid for their labours as they caught the murmurs of appreciation of the good things provided, that came from all parts of the house. It repaid them in full for the long hours of sweat and toil over pots and ovens and pans and fires in the

had a bottle of stout and a pint while I was having my drink I heard the woman of the house whisper to the servant girl to put me in such a room. When I had finished my drink the woman of the house showed me up to my room. It was a small room with one bed and the window looking out on the street. I was rather tired and very soon I was under the clothes with my heavy revolver under the pillow. Soon I fell asleep but I must not have been very long so when I woke up with a cold sweat all over me and my heart bursting through my side. I felt there was someone or something in the room but I could neither hear nor see anything. I sat up in the bed and handled my revolver. After awhile I could

Sweat Houses. Sweat houses fulfilled the ancient role of the modern Turkish bath. They were stone houses with stone roof & stone floor with one very low entrance. Into this sweat house furze or bracken were put & lit up. Gradually the place heated up until the stones were nearly red hot. Then the patient got a bunch of grass or ferns to stand upon, went into the sweat house - closed the opening with abush [sic] of furze or heather. There he sweated heavily for a certain length of time, he came out, washed the sweat off himself, drank some whiskey ('poteen' I suppose) covered himself well until he got back to normal. People had recourse to sweat houses for curing Rheumatism, Lumbago, Sciaticao ec.

There is an "old sweat" house in Doonane. It is built of stone and the

house too. They said good-bye to John and they all left that house very sad. John and Paddy on their way home that night shed many a bitter tear. Paddy asked John when would he come home again. John said "This night five years Paddy the two of us will be coming down this boreen again". The following day John and his uncle left home and set sail for America. Paddy spent many a lonely day after John.
The time drew near and the five years were coming to a close. Paddy received a letter from John saying that he would see him soon. But John got a cold and was very ill. The night that John was to see Paddy he did not come and Paddy paid his usual visit to the farmer's house. That night when he was coming down the boreen he felt very lonely. Then he heard the footsteps coming after him. He stood and the noise stopped just by his side. The night was very dark and so he could not see anything. Cold sweat began to run down his forehead. He began to walk again and again he heard the footsteps. They passed along down the boreen and Paddy went home. He was no sooner inside the door than Annie, John's sister, came in and asked if he saw John and said that she was in the kitchen and he came in and went out again.Paddy took off his cap and blessed himself saying "May God rest John's soul this night". A few days after, they received a letter saying that John was dead. At eleven o'clock the night he died he seemed to be in great agony. Then a smile lit his face and he said "I have kept my promise to Paddy". He closed his eyes then and

5. One time when my grandfather was a young boy, he was working in a farmer’s house down near the Boyne. The owner of the house was Mr Boylan. When my grandfather went to it first he was put into a shed that was haunted. One night when he was in bed there was a big collie dog with him. And a ghost came in. He could not see it but the dog saw it, when my grandfather put out his hand for the candle it was upside down. The dog began to sweat then – he ran under the clothes.

One night Pat Butler was coming home from town and as he was coming near the ivy house a sow caught him by the leg and held not to let him go too quickly. As he was passing the ivy house a light ran out in front of him. Then the sow disappeared and the man went on. When he came to his own door the sweat ran off him and when he got ini he got weak. After a while he came to, and he told the people that were rambling what had happened, and they were afraid to go home.