A True Story
9th May 1938
A true Story
Once upon a time there lived in Ballafaidereen a woman whose husband was dead. She had so much to do that she stayed up every night after one o'clock.
One Saturday night as she stayed up sewing a knock came to the door at two o'clock. She opened the door and in walked a few women. The woman of the house took no notice of them. She did not know they were fairies.
It was not long until more gathered in and put up a spinning wheel. Some began to spin, others to card and it was not long until they had pieces woven.
The poor woman of the house did not know what to do. She took a can and went outside the house with the intention of stealing away from the fairies.
Outside the house she met a woman who was dead three months and the ghost told her to say to the fairies that the fort was on fire, and when she would get them gone out to quench it to throw out their bag of tricks.
She went into the house and told the fairies that the fort was on fire. They all ran out. As soon as they did so the woman of the house threw out their bag of tricks.
They came back again but the woman had the door bolted. The cloth they wove was on the altar for years.
“INFORMANT: Michael Kennedy, Age 48, Rush Hill, Co. Mayo”