Roaming tribes still wander around this locality chiefly beggars, tinkers and tramps. They usually camp about the country in a place called Derrygraney and in a field called the evicted half ways between Tuamgraney and Bodyke. There names are McCarthy's, Sweeneys and Bourkes. One old man named Bourke continually visits this district, mending umbrella's, pots, cans and kettles. An old lady named "Nell" usually visits this locality once a year. During the winter months, she works in farmhouses. At present she is down in Moyglass near Woodford at a house called 'Cleary's'. Different tramps visit this place but the above mentioned are a few of the well known.

41
them to come up.There was another man named Farron who lived in Woodford. Farron was always out for the English and hated Volunteers.One night he went to Search him for guns and he locked the door.Then he went up stairs to the front window with his rifle and fired at the Volunteers.However the were not there to raid him.There was also a man called Lord Geoff who lived in Loughcuter. Lord clanrickirdle whoo was a gentleman . He lived below Feakle.General Gacirs place below Feakle.He was a gentleman as well

The race of the black pig is supposed to be from Swanlinbar to Kilmore chapel. There is going to be a a war and it will be a valley of dead bodies. The wheel of Balliness mill is said to be turned with blood when the war come. The Catholicks and Protestants will be fighting and the Protestants will fight well for three days and then they will fail. It is said wherever the pig fed there will be war and that was in Lisanover and Cor a Chapaill. Wherever the black pig went Protestants will fight strong. It is said he didn't go across the Shannon and anyone who will go across the Shannon will be safe. He has an eye in his forehead. It is said when ninthy nine generations cross the Woodford river the black pig will come back again.

The famine was in Ireland in the year eighteen forty six and it was called black forty six. The people died is hundreds for want of food. It was in that year that the Woodford canal was made and the people who were making it were paid with threepence a day and the food they had to eat was cabbage, oaten meal and indian porridge. Bawn Boy work house was set up to give work to the people and for this work starving men had to give up their little farms and to tramp miles to toil at useless work far from home. Every day the people were got dead along the roadside with grass in their mouths.

Little yellow cup, full of peoples meat?
A thimble.Forty sheep went out a gap, fifty more followed them, five and seven, twice eleven, three and two - how much is that?
Five.Useful useless instrument often bought but never lent?
A coffin.Bigger no doubt of it, the more you take out of it?
A hole.Did New Year's Day and Christmas day ever fall on the one year?
It always does, if you begin at January and count to the end of the (new) year.Michael F. McMahon,
Woodford,
Co. Galway.Got from Mr. M.F. McMahon
Woodford
Co Galway

The way home led by the church of Bloncoe, and coming near it she said she was afraid to live alone, and they said they would go in and ask the priest to marry them that evening.
The priest as first refused to marry them and after a while he called them back and demanded five pounds marriage money. He told him he had no money, and the wife said she would give him the one little pig she had if he married them. The priest gave instruction to his servant man to go for the pig at day light in the morning.
Moran remained two nights in Tipperary after the funeral. On the third night he returned foot sore and weary and knocked at the door for admission. They put the back stick to the door and shook the holy water and commanded him to some resting place and to neither hurt or harm them. After repeated attempts to get in he went to the pig house and lay down with his little pig.
The priests man arrived for his pig and in the darkness he put the rope on Morans leg. Moran awoke from his slumbers. The priests man ran and came home and told his reverence. The priest did not believe him and the man told him that Morans ghost followed him for half a mile.
It being Sunday morning and the bell rang for mass, and Moran decided to go to early mass. All the neighbours ran from him. One old man had more courage and told the whole story to him. Where he heard it he went back to Tipperary and we never heard from him since.Writer:
Kathleen Abberton,
Rossmore,
Woodford,
Co. Galway.Story Teller:
David Hickey,
Rossmore,
Woodford,
Co. Galway

when the guests left for home. Before they left, the composed one line of each recitation."It froze last night said John White (Cappagh
It snowed in the morn said Mick Gorman ("
Tap the barrel said Carrol (Clonmoylan
Drink it up quick said big Mick (Cappagh
I will if I like said Paídin Pike ("
Do if you dare said Bridig Garr ("
He would and again said Stephen Glynn ("
You may believe that said Norrys Pat (Clonmoylan
Id cut you with m sword said long Tom Ford ("
And so you could said Jack Coen in the wood."The bride and her husband spent their honeymoon (fadling) footing turf in Bonnoun Bog.Writer:
Marie Porter,
Baimtia,
Woodford,
Co. Galway.Story Teller:
Patrick Tully
Shragh,
Woodford,
Co. Galway.

"You feeling christians, I poray attend"
"While I sing those verses I lately pended"
The tears of angush down my cheeks did sail
Since they killed my darlings in Kilkenny gaol.Thomas Larkin was my sons name
From the town of Woodford his parents came.
For being brave and noble in a neighbours cause,
He was
doomed to death by Cursetorys-lawsIn the town of Woodford my darling child
Often roamed in freedom through the meadows wild
The Crow-bar faction one morning came
to evict some tenants to the agents shame.And noble Tommy though a quite boy
Saw the Bailiff throw down each house with joy
He saw a Bailiff give a child a blow
My Tommy darling, soon led him low.For this noble action of a living son
It was into prison they quickly run
Far away from his parents dear
They killed my boy in the prison here

Situated in my own village of Bruchauneyaught, about four hundred yards from where I live are the ruins of an old Chapel. It was built years ago by some of the inhabitants of the districts of Loughatorick and Toorleitra. It was not very bit it was only a little thatched cabin chapel, large enough to accommodate fifty or sixty persons. As far as I thing there was not any chapel in Woodford at that time. This parish was called the parish of Ballinakill that time. the priest according to old tales had to come all the way from Looscaun a distance of about eight or nine miles. He had to come on horseback through the mountains there was no roads of any means of travelling only and old horse paths the use to call it. It has not much appearance of a Chapel now. A stranger might pass it often without dreaming it was ever such. There only untouched part of it remaining is the alter. The walls were drawn away and broken up to a road wish is passing near by. To even trace the foundation is a difficult job, there is nothing to pint it out only a few big rocks, too big rocks to put in a can and I suppose

There are six forges in this parish. The names of the smiths that own them are:- John Minogue, Criss Conway, John Egan, Michael Egan, Martin Canlan and Michael Callanan. Their people were not smiths for many years beforehand. Three of these forges are situated in Woodford, two in Rosstulis, and one in Derryoober. They are all beside a road, and three of them are situated in a village.

The forge, in which John Minogue works, is slated. The door of the forge is of no special shape. The implements the smith uses are:- a pincher, a hammer, a chisel, a file, a sledge, a punch and a vice. The smiths of this don't shoe cattle, but they always shoe horses and asses. They work out in the open air when putting on bands on wheels, and when welding bands together. This work is done beside a stream where lots of water is available to cool the red band when he puts it on the wheel.

Years ago, hurling was played in a much different manner from the way it is played now. This is a description of a match played then.The teams of the parishes of Ballinakill and Woodford were the competitors. There were about twenty hurlers on each side. Once side wore a coloured cap and the other side wore a different coloured cap. There were no fouls and they could try, and shove one another as much as they liked, in fact there was a man whose job was to trip as much of his rivals as he could. Their motto was "miss ball cut shin". The match was started near the boundary line of the parishes.The ball was then hit over ditches, lakes, and river, and whatever obstacle came in the way. Whichever team brought the ball into their own parish won the game.

About thirty years ago a man from the parish of Woodford, whose name was Johnro Cooley walked from Killimore, a distance of seventy Irish miles driving cattle to Killarney.
On the fair night of Killimore he would walk back to Limerick, and tavell all night to get the morning's train. When he would reach Scariff he would keep up to the mail-car from Scariff he would walk to Limerick and keep with the mail-car when he would come to a hill he would pass out the car walking and when they come to the top of the hill he would hold on to the cart, and run after it till they come to another.
When they would get tired walking they would sit down and take off their boots, and start on walking again and would reach home about twelve o'clock at night.

Two men from Woodford shared an ass and car between them. One man owned the ass and the other the car. They went to a fair in Limerick a distance of forty-five miles with their ass and car.
On their way home at Bradford Hill thirty five miles from home, they disputed about staying on the car going up the hill.
The owner of the ass took it from the car and rode him home. The owner of the car had to pull home the car after himself and got shortly home after the man that rode the ass.

In this locality Woodford is the centre for fairs. Some farmers sell their stock to buyers who call to their houses and others bring them to the fair. The fair-green is the usual place where cattle and cows stand while bohnams, sheep, calves and other animals are sold in the streets. As people pass into the town with their animals they are called upon to pay toll for each animal to the owner of the fair green.
This is how the toll is calculated: four pence on a cow, a penny on a bohnam and sheep and three pence on a calf. When a person sells his stock he usually gives luckmoney to the buyer. Two shillings each for cattle, sixpence for a bohnam and sheep and a half crown for a horse. When a bargain is made the animal is marked with a coloured raddle or scissors mark. March, April and May are the biggest fairs during the year. In this town there are no special fair for horses or other animals.

Travelling folk very often visit this plase. The most well known of them are Paddy Murphy and Johny Doyle. Paddy Murphy always comes for the fair in Woodford and Portumna.
The Doyls travel in large parties and camp in the by-roads. Long ago they used to travel with ponies and cars but most of the at present are supplied with living vans. They also make tin saucepans, cans and several other things. Others of them carry baskets of fancy things and they also beg. In former times poor beggar men used to travel alone and they used to sleep in hay-sheds or barns. But nowadays there are few of those kind with the exception of a few old drovers such as Paddy Murphy who goes around selling ballads.

The name of my home district is Derryoober. It is in the parish of Woodford and in the barony of Lietrim. About seventy two people resides there. Gorman is the commonest name there. The houses are all thatched. A good many old people live there. One old man is over ninety years. Derryoober gets its name from the Irish name "Doire-fubhair" which means "The Grove of the Elm trees". None of them know Irish. Many families emigrated to other countries years ago. There is no song or ryme about Derryoober.
The land is hilly but good. The Shannon is to the East and the mountain to the West.

clear out. When the man returned the stranger had the wood cut down. The man rode back and told the Lord. The Lord ordered his men to get up on their horses and follow him to the Island.
They rode through Woodford and Gurteeny and when they reached Mountshannon in sight of the Island the men stuck to the saddles and the horses stuck to the road. The Lord told the man to go into the stranger and tell him that he would make him a present of the Island if he released them out of the state they were in. The stranger built seven churches on the island and afterwards known to be a saint. The ruins of the seven churches are still and the Island is now called "Holy Island".

Woodford. About four in all one at Ballingar an the other three in places known as Cloncoe, Whilly and Derrygoober. It has never been known that anybody interfered with these forts when ploughing or planting crops.They had two reasons for this- one reason being there was an old superstition that if they interfered with them the fairies would do them some form of harm before the year was out and secondly they were land marks of the past. The Ballingar fort is a circular mound faced with stone. There is and entrance hole in the east side and it is hollow in the centre. About twenty years ago it was a hiding place for poteen but now it is enclosed with hawthorn. Surrounding it there is a path know as the Fairy Path. The old people were afraid to pass that way after twelve o'clock, it was believed that fairies would take them into the fort or else that they would inflict some bodily harm on them. There is another old legend connected with this fort also- that the old people used to hear a bell ringing there all night.
Cloncoe fort is built in the shape of a half circle and banked with earth, it is also hollow in the centre. Sarsfield hath big guns placed on this mound covering his retreat to

Famine
Tradition tells us that the inhabitants of the district of Woodford suffered much from the famine of '47.
Before the Famine this district was thickly inhabited but when the potato crop which was the sole maintenance of the people, was destroyed by the blight they had nothing to eat, so consequently some of them left their homes seeking help of some kind. But alas getting weak on the way with hunger the[y] died by the roadsides, hedges, and ditches.
One old woman Catherine Conroy

and that finished the eviction campaign on the Burke estate at Woodford.
Lord Clanricarde then took proceedings against his tenants with the result that there was one hundred and eleven families evicted. There was a thousand police and a company of highland soldiers sent to protect the Sheriff. The first house the[y] visited was a man the name of Pat Conroy, Kilnamelly. This man was confined to bed for a number of years. There was a medical certificate given by Dr. Blackton to Conroy's eldest son William Conroy that his father was not in a fit state to be removed. Joyce, Clanricarde's agent was present. There was also a resident magistrate of the name of Mr. Whyte. He was in charge of the crown forces. There was an English officer in charge of the Highland[er]s. Joyce objected to the medical certificate and the resident and the resident magistrate and officers went to Conroy's bedroom. When they came out the English officer was moved with pity for the old man. He went to the resident magistrate and police officers and made up up a collection for Conroy's rent. He then called Conroy eldest son and offered him the money Conroy thanked him for his great