Issue No. 23 Christmas1992

ChristmasPrice £1.00

'The members ofBallymote Heritage

Group. and the 'Editor of

The Corran HeraldJames Flanaganwould like to wish all ourreaders, contributors andadvertisers a very happyand peaceful Christmasand a prosperous New

Year

Nollaig Shonadhibh Co Lem

THE

CORRAN HERALDA Ballymote Heritage Group Production.

IN THE FORTIESP.J. Duffy

The nineteen forties were undoubt-edly a lean period in our country, andalthough World War II ended in 1945food rationing continued right on intothe next decade. Our young folk oftenask the question, "What was Christmasreally like in the forties?" Well, mymemories of the early forties are rathervague. I was a schoolboy then and onething I can recall was the dire scarcityof paraffin oil, so badly needed to pro-vide us with light, to do the schoolhomework on the winter evenings.Ration books were the order of the day,and a government announcement thatan allotment of a half-ounce of tea perperson was coming into force, drewgasping moans of disbelief from the

Christmas in the fortieswas to see the surfacing

of the porter spreevast majority of the country's inhabi-tants, who rightly figured that this pal-try allowance would bring about amassive cut back in the consumptionof their favourite beverage.

However, when it came to celebrat-ing Christmas the great scarcity did notdeter people in the rural areas frommaking the most of the festive season.In the weeks leading up to Christmassmall quantities of foodstuff difficult toobtain were conserved and held overfor the parties and sprees, always char-acteristic of this time of year. The boxtyparties which were usually held duringthe time of potato digging now extend-ed right through the advent period and

onto Christmas time. Potatoes were plen-tiful, and although flour was scarce andbrown in colour, this did not deter house-wives and their helpers from turning outsome very good boxty bread. This kind ofparty could often turn out to be a merryoccasion with not only boxty on offer, buta good splash of booze as well.

I have been told that this kind of hoo-ley was not new to the Christmas scene,and that it had been carried out on agrand scale up until the early decades ofthe century. The acute food scarcity hadnow brought about a speedy revival ofan age old Christmas celebration.

Christmas in the forties was to see thesurfacing of another type of party, theporter spree. This would seem to havebeen a sort of glorified revival, at leastfor the Christmas period, of the old she-been system of socialising. There was avoluntary getting together of a group ofpeople, mostly middle aged men andalso a number of younger stalwarts whoneeded no introduction to the great elixirof life. All concerned chipped in with acontribution of about ten shillings perhead towards the purchase of a quarterbarrel of stout and some spirits.

On the night of the party the kegwould usually be placed on a stool in anouthouse, where it would be topped anda couple of reliable gentlemen put incharge. The drink was siphoned off intopint size mugs and trollied to thekitchen where a music and dancing ses-sion would be in progress. There werealways plenty of musicians around, most

BUNNINADDEN NATIONAL SCHOOL 1958

Back Row from left

Mary Mc Loughlin, Kathleen Brennan, Mairéad Hannon, Patricia Gorman,Nancy Scanlon, Mary Teresa Mulholland, Kathleen Rogers, Nessa Mc Guinn, ItaHealy, Cannel Davey, Kathleen Killoran, Peggy Roddy.Front Row from Left

Letty Hannon, Maureen Scanlon, Mary Elizabeth Doohan, Annie Mary Scanlon,Philomena Mulholland, Martha Davey, Mary Killoran.

Johnson's

Medical Hall

S. Johnson M.P.S.I.

Lord Edward St., Ballymote

071-83515

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of them ready and willing to providefirst class entertainment. Popular instru-ments of the day included the old fash-ioned melodian and the bodhran. Setsand half-sets of lancers were tapped outon the kitchen floor and all persons pre-sent took turns in and out betweendances to go the room for refreshments.This is where the ladies came into focuswith an all out effort at catering andwashing up. Other party pieces includedballad singing, step dancing, storytelling etc.

These Christmas parties were usuallycarried out in an orderly manner, with an

almost complete absence of rowdyism,or over indulgence in alcohol. The ownerof the house had laid down a sort ofgolden rule that the maximum amountof alcohol allotted to any one person befive mugs of porter. The crowd usuallydispersed and headed for home ataround cock-crow in the morning.

That so many of the parties had beenso orderly conducted has been attribut-ed to the fact that the terrible war rag-ing in Europe had a subduing effect onour entire population.

Later on in the fifties the attitude of

Conran. Herald (!.................-.................................-.-...............-...................................................... ..................-.-.....................-..................................-..-............................-...........................-...............-........................................................

our young people changed dramatical-ly, and disorderly scenes were some-times witnessed at country-house par-ties. Petty little acts of blackguardismwere seeping in, and honest-to-good-ness country people were introducedto substances like red pepper and itch-ing powder at the parties. These sub-stances were usually brought into thecountry by people returning fromabroad. The older generation werecompletely taken aback by this kind ofbehaviour.

The use of red pepper was anextremely dangerous action especiallywhen placed in cotton wool and left tosmoulder at a door entrance. It gave outan intoxicating fume that irritated thethroat and chest and caused utter confu-sion within the congested country hous-es, often putting an end to the party.

Another substance which came intoplay during this period was itchingpowder. Although not nearly as dan-gerous as red pepper it caused irrita-tion of the skin which often nearlydrove its victims to distraction.

The porter spree more or less diedout with the forties. It was a fixturethat was really suited to this particularjuncture in time. It brought peopletogether for a bit of recreation whenthey needed something to cheer themup. The vast majority of them, I feelsure, enjoyed every minute of it.

The average Irishman enjoyed hispint of porter and solemnly believedin a philosophy, that one hour ofcrowded glory was preferable to a life-time of misery.

Sharon'sUNISEX HAIRDRESSING

LORD EDWARD STREET

BALLYMOTE

TUESDAY - SATURDAY LOAM TO 6.00PM

TEL : 8 3 3 8 2

Christmas Greetings to altour customers

HIELTY'S

R oc k Qcur

O'Connell St.

13allymote

071 - 83313

Christmas Wishesto all our cutomersfromDes&Margaret Kielty

May Hunt

wishes all her

FRIENDS AND

RELATIVES,

and also all in

Northwest & Mid-

West Radio,

a

Happy Christmas and a

Prosperous New Year.

A Dead Loss

It was a fine warm evening inJune many many years ago. Theevening chores were finished,the hay-making finished for theday. A group of the lads gath-ered at the crossroads for achat. In those days there was noT.V., no videos and no disco.

The lads began to discussamong them what they could orwould do to relieve the bore-dom. Many suggestions wereoffered, but all failed to be takenup. Then out of the blue came aproposal, 'we will make abodhran". All were in favour, butwhere would the main Ingredientcome from, it being the skin of a

goat about a year and a half old,ideal stuff.

There was a persloner living atthe East end of the village and heowned a suitable animal. Well!However, either by design or byaccident the goat died and wasburied in the bog nearby, naturallythe old man felt a great loss.

After about a week the carcasswas exhumed, and due to the hor-rible stench it had to be skinnedunder water. The skin was washedand shaved and was treated withsome sort of powder to season orcure It. It was then spread on abarn door to dry out, but a passinghungry dog took the skin away.There ended the sad story of thatBodhran.

Curran Herald....-.--..................-........-.-.-.............................-....-...............--...........--.............................-.-----.....................

THE THIRD ANNUAL HERITAGE WEEKEND in Ballymote had as itshighpoint a special Mass in honour of the 550th anniversary of the localFranciscan friary. This Mass, at which the chief concelebrant was MostRev. Dr. Thomas Flynn, Bishop of Achonry, was held in the parish churchon the afternoon of Sunday, August 2nd. 1992. In 1688 a special chalicewas ordered for use in the friary by the then Guardian, Fr. Anthony McDonagh. The photo above shows this same chalice being held by BishopFlynn. [See Tom Mc Gettrick's 'Three Chalices' in this issue.]

MEEHAN'S

FOODSTORE

O'Connell St.

Ballymote

071 - 83481

Christmas Greetings !

to all our

Customers & Friends

Corran Herald

Pictured above are Fr. Liam McDermott and the writer of'The African Connection', Mr. Jack Martin

In this 550th Anniversaryyear of the Franciscans inBallymote, it is only rightto mention one of ourown...... a Ballymote Fran-ciscan who has made histo-ry in Africa. Fr. LiamMcDermott was appointedthe First Provincial to thefirst South AfricanProvince which was set upin 1985.

Fr. Liam was born in Ballymote in1934. Educated in the ConventNational School by the nuns andlater by Mr. Cassidy and Mr Barnesin the local boys' school. There wasno secondary education in Ballymotethen for boys without going to aboarding school, so Mr. Barnes pre-pared the students for whateverscholarships were available. Fr. Liamwon a scholarship to Multyfarnhamand went there.

After five years there he decided tojoin the Franciscans and went to thenovitiate in Killarney, where he spent

a year and was professed as a Fran-ciscan on 8th September 1954. Fromthere he went to Galway and attend-ed the University for three years,studying Greek, Latin, and Mathe-matics. He made his final professionin Galway on December 8th 1957.From there he went to St. Anthony'sCollege in Louvain to study philoso-phy. In 1959 he went to Rome tostudy theology and was ordainedthere on 17th February 1963. Thatsame year he was sent to SouthAfrica as curate in Sharpeville wherehe worked for fifteen years.Sharpeville in those days (threeyears after the shooting) was quitetense and being a white priest he hadto have a special permit whichallowed him to be in the town from7.00am to 7.00pm. He was notallowed to be in town after dark. Sickcalls however were attended to andthat curfew was ignored. This permithad to be renewed every threemonths, which was one way of ensur-ing that the bearer caused no trouble.Before taking up his position inSharpeville he had to go to Lesoto tolearn Sotho. When he returned to

Sharpeville and apart from permitsand what have you, it was just ordi-nary parish work for the next fifteenyears. He also helped people withpermits to live and work in the area.

JACK MARTINIn 1978 Fr. Liam was elected

regional superior of the Franciscansin the Transval area of South Africa.In 1985 the first South Africanprovince was set up and he wasappointed the first provincial andheld that post until 1991.

Fr. Liam was on vacation in Bally-mote this year and it was his oneregret that he could not be with usduring the Heritage Week-end cele-brations, seeing that he is the onlyconnection with the Franciscan past;but during his holiday at home he gotword that he was transferred to Zam-bia and must be in South Africa forthe end of July; but I'm sure he wastruly with us in spirit. *

^rran :fI ^rii^rl:::<::..............................................................

Time Brings ChangesMRS. MARY WHITE

The by-Pano mercy as

V e are thirty years living in Collooney now.When we rented the little storey-and-a-half house in Tubberbride for ten

shillings/fifty pence weekly, from Farrells in April'62, Jim Mc Garry owned a lovely bungalow on theopposite side of the road, and G.W.I. had movedfrom Tubbercurry to Old Street Collooney, whereMcMahon's is now.

Kerins were our immediate neighbours. They werekind and patient with us as we drew our daily waterfrom their taps. John Kelly R.I.P. never tired of mow-ing the lawns and pampering the attractive shrubsand hedges atMcGarry's "Cars were parkedbumhouse. Ten- bumper up and down:ants came :.--......---:-...-...--- :::>:::::::::::-:: ;::.;:::...:.;:.;::.;:.;:.:........ .. .

and went from the bungalow, Ewan O'Flynn and hisfamily moved to Lucan, Breege Haran/O'Donnahuemoved to Limerick. Maggie Keogh and her husbandMichael R.I.P. lived around the corner between Kerinsand us. A little farther up the hill but still in Tubber-bride, Charlie and Mrs. Burke continue to live. Theirfamily have flown the nest. G.W.I. employed betweenthree and four hundred men using all the floors of themulti-storey buildings in the yard. The hooter could beheard for miles around several times a day. Cars wereparked bumper to bumper up and down the town.

John and Mrs. Broe R.I.P. ran a unique businessfor many years offering everything from freshsandwiches for the G.W.I. men to antiques, jew-ellery and groceries. The Broe buildings remainthe same, and a new Thrift ship is currently beingestablished. Thanks to the County Council and theDepartment of the Environment the abandonedplot between Broes and the hill-top has been transformed into themost attractive flood lit grotto inthe North West. The stone workand engineering is a credit to theworkers and a pleasure to thebeholders. Out of the ashes of a few little housesbetween Broes and McGoverns came the four love-ly two storey houses inhabited by Mellee, Sweeney,McLoughlin and Duggan families. McGovernFlorists was grocery then, and Gillooley's, nowJohnny Macs' Bar, with John Francis O'Rourkeand Joe O'Neill, may they rest in peace, was the'in' pub for the joinery workers to wash the sawdust and noise away. Bretts and Breslins livedwhere Innisfree Crystal is now.

Jim and Eileen Gilligan and Jim Mc Garry com-manded the double, maybe treble, buildings top ofthe hill corner with flourishing clothing andfootwear business and private residence.

In one of the four little houses between McGarry'sand G.W.I. Willie Burke R.I.P. tapped away at hisshoe-maker business with a smile and a job done foreveryone who called. Now another beautiful twostorey house, credit to the builder Stephen Sweeneystands there. The Old Street is now a very new andattractive street indeed, but the hill remains thesame, and even before there was any mention of a by-pass road many motorists shied away from the Hilland opted for the longer way around.

Back to Tubberbride. Council workers often board-ed up my window and door, took me down the road a

few hundred yards while they blasted the rockremoving a bad bend between Kerins and McGarry's. Four of our five children were born dur-ing the eight years we lived at Tubberbride. We

had outlived the advantages of the small, low-rentedhouse, and I had a path paved into the new estate,now Kiernan Avenue, watching every progressivestep– windows and doors fitted, the glass 'Xed', thewooden fences erected, but the allocation was delayedbecause of the sudden death of the contractor Mr.McHugh R.I.P. Eventually in August 1970 we movedinto our new house, No 6. By pure coincidence,because we drew the numbers from a hat, there wasa G.W.I. employee under each roof of the twelve semi-detached houses; John Hannon, Jim Scanlon, MickWhite, Owen Watters, John Breslin, PaddyCallaghan. The Hannons and Scanlons moved on,and the other four families are still in residence.

round the same time G.W.I. from Old Streetto the huge factory and Sports Complex onthe Boyle Road, but changes were only begin-

ning. Overtime in G.W.I. which often ran to 10.00pmand Saturdays in the old fac-tory, was drastically reduc-ed, and even the dinner hourwas cut to accommodate theworkers who preferred to be

off earlier in the evenings. In 1986 G.W.I. closed with theloss of four hundred jobs. Mangan's Cash and Carry usepart of the buildings, and Collooney Community pur-chased the Sports, eeling Centre.

There are several lovely new houses at Tubber-bride now, and our little love nest has beenredesigned and enlarged. But the by-pass road hadno mercy as it ploughed through McGarry's bungalowand the water-holding-tree, (from which Tubberbridegot its name), hiding most of the houses and leavingMcGarry's golden privet and Cherry Blossom highand dry but still beautiful on the other side of theNew Road., $

Ss showedit ploughed...

Conan Herald............................................-...........................

My Town

Come and walk with meas I travel through my hometown,Ballymote. It has a population of1,100. It is situated in the lime-stone plains of Corran and wewill rest under the shadow of thecone-shaped hills of Kesh-corran.

BALLYMOTE means the town ofthe moat. It gets is name because ofthe Norman Castle situated on theoutskirts of the town. This castlewas built in about the year 1300 byRichard De Burgo, second Earl ofUlster who was known as the RedEarl. The site of the Castle wasknown as Atha Cliath an Chorainn-the ford hurdles of Corran.

The area within the walls is150ft. square. The walls are aboutten feet thick. The castle wasowned by O'Connors, McDermottsand the Taafes at different times. itwas here that the Book of Bally-mote was compiled in about 1491.

There are many historic build-ings in Ballymote. The oldestbuilding in Ballymote isEMLAGHFAD CHURCH. Theparish of Emlaghfad was estab-lished by Saint Colmcille when he

Noelle Healy, Cletta

built the Abbey and appointedSaint Enda as its Abbot. The monkscontinued to live in Emlaghfaduntil about 1605. the Abbey wastaken over by the EstablishedChurch in 1615. It remained as aProtestant church until the presentchurch on the Rock which wasbegun in 1818 by the Rev. JohnGarret was completed in 1848 at acost of £2.500.

THE FRANCISCAN ABBEY wasfounded in 1442 by three brothersnamed Patrick, Andrew and PhilipO'Coleman. The Pope's bush tiarais still there to be seen sculpturedover the door of the Westerngable.

EARLSFIELD HOUSE wasfounded in Ballymote in about1775 by the Fitzmaurices. Thebuilders of this house tried to takesome stones from the FranciscanAbbey. The Parish Priest disagreedand said that they were takingstones from a consecrated buildingand that they would one dayreturn to a consecrated building.Earlsfield House is now owned bythe Sisters of Mercy.

The COURTHOUSE was built in1813 at a cost of £600. It was theonly one of its kind in the country.

GLEBE HOUSE was built inabout 1825 by Rev. John Garrett ashis place of residence. It is nowowned by Dr. Scully and her familyand is called Eagle House.

In about 1760 Lord Shelbourneestablished a linen industry in Bal-lymote. He installed twenty onelooms but it was not a success untilThomas Fitzmaurice took it over in1774. He erected a bleach mill atMill Street and provided a millrace. Mill Street is now called Grat-tan Street.

Now dear reader, perhaps youtire as I relate all this history to you,but each town has its own storyand its own pride.

For me, Ballymote is thebest. Why not come into oneof our local restaurants,gaily decorated and we'lltaste some hot buns andfreshly brewed coffee.

CAMERA CRAFT

Ld. Edward St.Ballymote

Wish all their customers a veryHappy Christmas

A Prosperous New Year.

HurleysO Connell St. Ballymote

for

* Newspapers * Magazines * Confectionery *

* Tobacco * Stationery *

*National Lottery Tickets and Lotto *

Full Range of Christmas Cards and Decorations in stock

COME MID SEE OUR SANTA'S TOY GROTTO

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM MICHAEL,

PATRICIA & STAFF

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Ballymote 071 - 83315

Loads of Christmas Specialsin

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Season's greetings to all ourcustomers and friends

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JOHNDODDY

O'CONNELL STBALLYMOTE

BAR & LOUNGE(with Meeting Room)

BP PetrolDieselOils

Ci r an fErald>

A document in the Tom M ePublic Record Office of Ireland begins:

" JAMES BY THE GRACE OFGOD, OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND,FRANCE AND IRELAND, KING,DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, TO ALLTO WHOM OUR PRESENT LETTERSHALL COME, GREETING, ETC.. "

After a surfeit of pompous verbosityand frequent aforesaids, the aforesaidKing grants to Sir James Fullerton theright to hold fairs and markets in bally-mote on certain specified dates."

James the First was King 1603 -1625 and the permission was given inthe 14th year of his reign. That datesBallymote's markets and fairs. Theright continued through a successionof landlords down to the Fitzmauriceswhose names are associated with theirefforts to establish the linen industry inthe second half of the 18th century.

Sir Robert Gore-Booth became thelandlord of Ballymote in 1834. TheFitzmaurice interest in it had come toan end with the failure of the linenindustry. They had interests elsewhereand they made a deal with Gore-Booth.He, whether for the welfare of his newtenants or to recoup some of his outlayon the property, drew up a set of rules,the title of which was:

RULES FOR THE BETTER REGU-LATION OF BALLYMOTE MARKET.

The Markethouse, on the Rock, wasbuilt by the Fitzmaurices and had acentral role in the rules. It had weigh-ing equipment and storage space.There was a weighmaster and he had'assistants'. There was a butter tasterand this is an occupation that time andprogress have made obsolete. Cream-eries were still many years into thefuture. Ballymote, one of the earliest inthe country, opened in July 1897. But-ter, made by the farmers' wives, was anan important item among the market'scommodities. The taster could accept,downgrade or reject butter andstamped it accordingly. Some house-

G e t t r i c k wives were knownfor the quality of their product andthey often got ready sale in the localshops. After each market a cart left forSligo laden with firkins. Sligo port sentout considerable amounts of butter.

The market opened promptly at8.00am in Summer and 9.00am in Win-ter. These are a sample of the weighingcharges and there were charges also forstorage:

A firkin of Butter 2d.A sack of Corn ld.Tasting butter /firkin 3d.A dead Pig 2d.Draft of wool per cwt. 6d.Creel or bag of Potatoes ld.

The fairs of our time were held on thefirst Tuesday and Wednesday of eachmonth, the pig fair on Tuesday and thecattle on Wednesday. Fullerton wasgiven permission for two fairs, one inMay and one in August. The pig fairwas usually concentrated on the Rockand the cattle fair, on peak days, mightspread over most of the town. The bulkof the cattle sold went to the station tobe railed for export or to go to the large

farms of the midlands. Some went byroad to the northern station at Col-looney and two drovers could havebetween fifty and a hundred cattle todrive. Cattle droving was an occupa-tion of the time.

To Meath of the pasturesFrom wet hills by the sea,Through Leitrim and LongfordGo my cattle and me.

There was a 'custom gap' betweenCryans and Tighes at the entrance toTeeling St. and tolls were collectedthere on all cattle going to the stationor by road.

The Gore-Booths were the last land-lords of the town before the Land Actsgot rid of landlordism and they weresucceeded by the Ballymote ElectricLighting and Town Improvements Co.One might say it saw the curtainsdrawn on many of the old domesticways of the town.

The citizens in our own time sawthe fairs give way to the new system ofof the cattle mart and heard the squealsof the last bonhams on the Rock. Thereare no turkeys weighed in the Market-house at Christmas now, nor second-hand clothes bought off the Ceanntfrom Ballaghadereen. There's no dilliskor rock or conversation lozenges or'peggy's leg' anymore.

There may be a few hundred of"Early York yet, but it's no wonder the'averages' in the rural schools wentdown.

Scanlon'sCorner House

O'Connell St

Ballymot¢

071- 83777

Christmas Greetings to

all our customers and

friends.

'orrrrn Heralá::

Ancient Irish Cures

P.J.DuffyNowadays, with the advent of mod-

ern medicine we seem to have little orno regard for those people who stillpractice ancient methods of healing.Yet, there was a time in our countrywhen the vast majority of the peopledepended solely on them. Indeed rightup to and during the early decades ofthis century various forms of healingwere widely in use right across thecountryside. Our ancestors had, itseems, a cure for every type of ailmentunder the sun. Most of these werehanded down from father to son rightdown through to succeeding genera-tions.

For the vast majority of people whopracticed the various methods of heal-ing, theirs was a sacred inheritance, notto be spurned or taken lightly, butrather to be religiously cherished andused compassionately in the interestsof all people.

Very often, what you found whenyou went searching for a cure, was anordinary – looking plain individualwho went about his or her dailychores, in a quiet and unassuming way,but who always found time to attendto those people who were ill or in dis-tress. Unique, amongst all of those peo-ple who effected cures, was of coursethe faith healer. he was to all intentsand purposes, a very rare species.

The seventh consecutive son ordaughter born into a family wouldautomatically become a healer, evenbefore reaching the age of adolescence.Stranger still is the fact that the seventhchild of a seventh child, born in thisorder, would inherit extraordinarypowers of healing. Evidence of this factcan still be found at the present time.What is even more significant is thefact that the number seven has extraor-dinary ,implications in the make up ofthe human form. For example genesfrom the human body can be carriedforward through seven successive gen-

erations, affecting the individual bio-logically for better or for worse. THereis a story told of a father of six sonswhose wife was expecting anotherchild. During the course of a conversa-tion with another woman, he men-tioned something about being awaitingthe arrival of the doctor. She anxiouslyenquired what was wrong. "Nothingvery much", replied he. "My wife isexpecting again and we're hoping for ason, for he will be a doctor." The sonduly arrived, and if the story is true, heleft behind him a record in healing thatmight match any doctor.

Another example of the power tocure being inherited through circum-stance, is the fact that if a person neverset eyes on their father, they wouldautomatically be endowed with theability to cure a troublesome throat andmouth infection known as Thrush.Many of us have witnessed instancesof this form of healing in our lifetime.

The majority of people who prac-ticed the various forms of healing, didnot have have the slightest idea as totheir origins. It was just something thatwas handed down to them from a pre-vious generation, and they carried on,simply because they thought it wastheir duty to do so.

According to some old folk whom Ihave talked to , the practice goes backto remote times in our history, whenour race had little or no medical reme-dies to combat the ravaging diseaseepidemics that they were subjected tofrom time to time. What we mustunderstand here is the fact that livingconditions were then very primitiveand people found it necessary to residein large settlements, mostly for protec-tion from warring tribes. There are sto-ries told of infected people having tobe isolated from settlements andthrown into places of isolation. Accord-ing to some of the stories, the unfortu-nate victims of some of these plagues

were often visited by a spirit, who notonly cured them ,but also gave to themthe power to cure others, and subse-quently pass their gift on to a new gen-eration.

Most of us have, at sometime dur-ing our lifetime, listened to stories andaccounts of the powers and magicalacts said to have been brought byDruids, wizards, siblings and cannyfolk in ancient Ireland. We have only tolook back to the end of the last century,and listen to stories being told aboutthe late Biddy Early who lived at Feak-le in County Clare. This remarkablewoman was said to have extraordinarypowers bestowed on her, after beingvisited by a strange lady while she layon her sick bed suffering from pneu-monia. The visitor was said to havehanded her a green twisted shaped

Corran F7eratd::.,; >; . ... .. ...... ............................................-..............-....................._.. .... ... . _ ..... . -.................................................................................

bottle, and vested within its funnel wasthe power to cure all kinds of ailments,and also the power to cast spells.

When we examine the stories relat-ing to Christian Ireland, we hear storiesof cures been carried out at places likespring wells. Definitely in olden timesthe spring well was regarded as some-thing very sacred, and a symbol ofgreat purity. The monks of old alwaysbuilt their monasteries near hand to agood spring well. They blessed thewell and baptised the offspring of thefaithful with the waters of these sacredfountains. Many people laid claim tothe fact that they had their ailmentscured while visiting these holy places.

In rural Ireland it was regarded as abad omen to deny anybody access to aspring well or to abuse or pollute it.

Operating alongside the variousforms of faith healing you had thosepeople who compounded traditionalprescriptions and remedies which werewidely in use down through the cen-turies. These people prepared and puttogether mixtures which made up oint-ments, plasters, poultices and lotions.

Like the other healers they too,devoted a fair share of their time andtalents towards helping out their fel-lows in distress.

The ingredients that went towardsmaking up these preparations werealways a closely guarded secret andnobody would dare venture to enquirewhat they contained. Some of the peo-ple who were responsible for assem-bling the ingredients and blendingthem together were known as herbal-ists. They collected herbs and plantsfrom the soil, and sometimes boiledthem in milk, for oral consumption.Again, the herbs would be seasonedand ground to make plasters for apply-ing to external parts of the body.

Whatever about advances in thefield of modern medicine we will con-tinue to be fascinated with the variousforms of traditional healing, especiallythe ones involving faith or spiritualhealing. The people who carried themout were at all times greatly respected,and seemed to be surrounded by a cer-tain amount of mystique. Some of themwe were so familiar with that we liter-ally took them for granted.

There was the seventh son who wasusually associated with curing ring-worm, a skin infection which formedin circular patches and affected various

parts of the body. He carried out hiscure by drawing a circle with his fingeraround the area of infection. He thenblew his breath on the spot and reciteda couple of prayers.

We had the man with a cure for apain in the head. In olden times thisused to be known as head fever. Hesimply tied a cloth band tightly aroundthe head and recited some prayers.After a couple of minutes he removedthe band and noted the measurement ofthe head on its circumference. You paidthree visits to this healer, and each timehe took note of the head measurement.On the final visit he pronounced youcured, that was if the size of the headhad reduced considerably since the firstvisit.

You'd got the man with cure forstomach and bowel worms. His curewas certainly a remarkable one. Itcame about after he packed a half-pintglass tightly with oatmeal. He tenstretched a piece of linen cloth acrossthe top of the glass and tied it firmlywith string. His patient was obliged tostrip off all clothing from the abdomen.The healer then placed the glassful ofoatmeal tightly against the stomachand while doing so recited recitedprayers. After a couple of minutes hewould take the glass from the bodyand place it on a table where he wouldremove the cloth and point to a num-ber of minute openings inside the hardpacked oatmeal which had been eatenaway by worms. On the second visit tothis healer, there should be a noticeablecut back in the consumption of meal inthe glass. Then on the third and finalvisit you were declared cured if themeal in the glass went untouched.

Most of us are well aware of the factthat faith healing in Ireland was by nomeans a man's prerogative. There weremany well known women healers whowere never found wanting when itcame to relieving sick people. We hadthe woman who cured a nasty infectionof the mouth and throat known todayas thrush, but in her day it was calledfoul-mouth. Thankfully there are peo-ple still around who carry out this typeof healing.

There once lived a woman in ourarea who could remove a dust from theeye, by placing a bowl of water on asmall table. She would ask her subjectto stand beside the bowl while sherecited some prayers. Seconds later the

dust could be seen floating in thewater.

One of the strangest forms of thera-py to be practiced in rural Ireland andwhich still continues to a certain extentis the ancient cure for whooping-cough. The consumption of ferret'sleavings by the victims of this conta-gious chest and throat complaint has, itseems, been around for a very longtime. The ferret, an uncanny little ani-mal, belongs to the weasel family, andas we know the weasel in our part ofthe country has long been regarded asa strange and mysterious creature.Many people still believe that it is anunlucky omen to harm or kill theweasel.

Back in the late forties and earlyfifties we kept a ferret at our place forthe purpose of catching rabbits. Theanimal was usually muzzled and letloose into the burrows where he rout-ed the rabbits out into nets placed atthe openings. All this was happeningwhen there was a price and a marketfor rabbits.

I still clearly remember the severeoutbreaks of whooping cough thatoccurred during those years and theworried parents of children arriving atour house in search of ferrets leavings.Many of them had set aside medicalprescriptions, sincerely believing thatthis was the most effective cure.

During this time we were obliged tokeep the ferret's quarters clean, and theanimal itself well groomed. A glassdish filled with milk would be placedwithin its cage. Although it mightalready have taken enough food, itwould at most times be willing to sam-ple a fresh complement. The remainderwould then be poured into a bottle andhanded over to the visitor.

When queried later, about the effectsof the bottle's contents the reply wouldusually be "There was a noticeableimprovement, shortly after the childtook its first sip."

Finally there is one more kind ofcure that I might like to mention here.It is one some of our readers might findinteresting, if not downright bizarre.This is one of a number of ancientcures íor a burn, which anybody canacquire, simply by licking the body of atiny speckled bellied lizard, which isoften found in trenches and bogholesor else damp stonewalls, as it is anamphibious creature and can adapt

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accordingly. In olden times this minia-ture reptile was known in Irish folkloreas a mankeeper. The reptile, like theweasel had a rather weird reputation,and often featured in strange storiesgoing back to biblical times. Very fewpeople would take the risk of goingnear to a lizard, not to mention touch-ing it with the tongue. But there werethose courageous ones who took therisk and as a result became healers. Tocarry out his cure the healer was thenobliged to lick the burned flesh of someunfortunate victim, and a rapid processof healing was said to follow suit.

Thankfully the need never arosewhere I myself found it necessary tovisit a faith healer, but I have on sepa-rate occasions taken a number of peo-ple to their place of residence in pursuitof cures. The result at all times seemedsatisfactory, and at no time did I hearmention of a complaint.

Something else worth noting in rela-tion to the faith healing practice is itsnumerical code system — the seventhchild; the seventh generation; the sev-enth child of a seventh child; three vis-its to a healer; three prayers recitedduring each visit. Visits, if possibleoccurring on the third and seventhdays of the week. you can see that theodd numbers of three and seven figureprominently here.

After we examine all the facts, wehave to agree that the healer belongedto a remarkable category of people. Apeople who in their time devoted theirtime and talents towards helping oth-

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ers, and in almost all cases, achievingresults that defied human explanation.

He was very much a product of histime. His was a noble calling. He had thisunique gift bestowed on him, and heunderstood there was a moral obligationto carry it out at all times and eventuallypass it to a new generation.

Martin McGettrick

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;MARX +0'U4(JNNELL .. _

Iran:Rea'

Do the people of the West of Ire-land ever stop to think, that we havegiven two presidents to Ireland in thepersons of Dr. Douglas Hyde, ourvery first president and Mrs MaryRobinson, our present one. Since ourstate is so very young, isn't thissomething we should be very proudof!

Dr. Douglas Hyde was the íirst tobear the title of Uachtarán na hEire-ann and the first occupant of 'Ardsand Uachtaráin". He was born inCastlerea in 1860 to Rev. ArthurHyde, Protestant Rector of Tibohine,Frenchpark, Co Roscommon and hiswife Elizabeth Orson-Oldfield. Hehad two older brothers, Arthur andOldfield and a younger sister,Annette. He spent the first sevenyears of his life in Killmactranny, Co.Sligo, in the Glebe House now ownedand occupied by Philip and Brid Mar-tin and family.

In 1867 his father was appointedRector at Tibohine Church, Porta-hard, Frenchpark and it was here Dr.Hyde spent his youth and teenageyears.

Frenchpartk, at this time, was anIrish speaking area and it was duringthese years he came to know thecountry people round his home andlearned to speak and love their lan-guage, their folklore and their Irishcustoms.

He was educated by his father 'til

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1880 when he was highly successfulin his entrance examination to Trini-ty College, Dublin, where he graduat-ed with a gold medal in Modern His-tory in 1884, and his Law DegreeLLD in 1888.

He was was a fluent linguist anda man who loved music and paintingbut his first and last interest was thepreservation of the Gaelic languageand culture which he believed wouldbreak down the political and reli-gious divides of his time.

In 1893 he co-founded 'Conradh naGaeilge' and became its first presi-dent. He wrote poetry, essays andrecorded folk-tales under the head-ings, 'Leabhar Scéalaigheachta' and'Beside the Fire'. He was Professor ofModern Irish in U.C.D. from 1909 to1932.

By agreement of the major politi-cal parties, he was offered andaccepted the first Presidency of Ire-land on 25th June 1938 and serveduntil 1945. He died on 12th June1949 and was buried with othermembers of his family in the groundsof Portahard Church of Ireland,where his father was Rector.

Today, the church has been devel-oped as an Exhibition and Informa-tion Centre in memory of Dr. Hyde.This centre has achieved much inblending together the beliefs and cul-ture of our country and promotesgreat social contact between Northand South. Many of the works whichDr. Hyde collected are now housed inthe centre as well as charts, mapsand photographs and a twenty fourminute video tape 'Love Songs ofConnaught'. It captures the spirit ofDr. Hyde's dream and preserves arecord of one life dedicated to onevision. Many other items of historicinterest are also housed at the centrewhich is open from May to Septem-ber.

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Con-an Herald 12

Three

Chalices

Tom Mc Gettrick

On Sunday August 2nd. theAnton McDonogh (AnthonyMcDonagh) Chalice was raised atthe Consecraton of the Mass in Bally-mote's Church of the ImmaculateConception. It was in celebration ofthe 550th anniversary of the Fran-sciscan Abbey, the ruins of whichoccupy a prominent position in theancient graveyard nearby. The Chal-ice bearing the date 1688 had comehome. Anthony McDonagh at differ-ent times between 1680 and 1703 isreferred to under the title Guardianof the Franciscan Friary of Ballymote.It would be more than surmise toconclude that many of those whonow rest in the graves in and aroundthat venerable pile would haveraised their eyes to that same Chalicewhen Friar Anthony celebrated Massin a building which at some rock on asheltered hillslope or in a privatehome where the monks, already scat-tered, were so often given shelter.

In 1942 the 500th anniversary ofthe coming of the Franciscans to Bal-lymote was celebrated with spiritualdignity and edifyng ceremony ashappened fifty years later in 1992.On this earlier occasion the Chaliceat the Mass was brought to Bally-mote by Friars from the FranciscanMonastery at Merchant's Quay. Itdid not have any particular associa-tion with Balymote. It was known asthe O'Queely Chalice. The SligoChampion in its issue 28/11/42states "The Chalice used was the DeBurgo Chalice presented to the MostRev. Dr. Malachi McQueely, Arch-bishop of Tuam in 1647 -etc." This

statement needs correcting - the factsare as follows:-

The DeBurgo Chalice and theO'Quelly (O'not Mac) Chalice were twodifferent vessels and that gives a rea-son for the title above, Three Chalices.The full title of the first one was the DeBurgo/O'Malley chalice. It was madein 1494 and it is now prominently dis-played in all its radiant beauty in theNational Museum. It was not in Bally-mote.

The O'Quelly Chalice was made forthe Archbishop in 1640. He died in1645 and Dr. O'Rorke, Sligo's historian,tells the story of his death as a "martialprelate" leading his Confederate sol-diers in an effort to retake Sligo in thatyear.

It is not necessary to write the wholestory. In 1924 both Chalices came upfor sale at Christies in London, andthose involved knew that art collectorswould be there in force. But theNational Museum and friends of theFranciscans had been alerted in time.The Museum secured the DeBurgo/O'Malley Chalice for £1,200and the O'Quelly Chalice was boughtfor £460 and taken back to the Francis-can Fathers at Merchant's Quay.

So much for the three Chalices thathave come forward in the search forBalymot'e authentic relic - The AntonMc Donagh Chalice.

Ak•

PICNIC

BASKET•

Imelda wishes all her cus-

tomers both old and new a very

Happy Christmas

and a

prosperous New Year

Jimmy Healy R.I.P. (centre), Lav-

ille, Ballymote, Patrick Duffy R.1.P.(right), Ballinascarrow, Ballymote,

photographed in the castle grounds

Ballymote, just before setting out onCanon Quinn's parade commemo-

rating the Battle of the Curlews.

Somebody around Ballymote mightbe able to identify the man on the

left of the picture. He seems famil-

iar but I cannot put a name on him.P.J. Duffy.

444 4 4

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