School: Ballinalee (roll number 1174)
- Location:
- Béal Átha na Lao, Co. an Longfoirt
- Teacher: Ss. Ó Mainchín
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0766, Page 247
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- (continued from previous page)Cat and Dog
Two teams consisting of three or four boys each, play this game during late spring and early summer.
A large stone fairly square is placed on the road. This is the spud. The Cat is a fairly thick piece of stick round and pointed at both ends. This is placed on the spud. The Dog is a round stout stick from 12 to 18 inches long. The "Cat" is placed on the "Spud". The out team spread themselves some distance in front of it. The player takes the Dog and hits the Cat a smart tap on one of its pointed ends so as to cause it to fly through the air. Each member of the "out" team tries to catch it while in the air. If any of them succeeds in doing so the hand is out. If nobody succeeds in catching it the Dog is placed its own length from the spud on the ground. One of the out players then takes the Cat from where it fell and tries to hit the Dog. If he succeeds the hand is out. If he does not succeed the player in play then tries to score by tapping the Cat on one of the pointed ends so as to cause it to raise and then striking it away from the Spud. He is allowed three strokes and when finished the distance between the Cat and the Spud is measured in lengths of the Dog. The number of lengths is the score. Play proceeds until the hand is out. If a player while trying to score with one of his first two shots hits the cat into a position from which(continues on next page)
