MARY O'DOHERTY
MARY O'DOHERTY was teaching at Prizon school at the time of the school collection. She was sick when during the period of collecting the stories which resulted in a late submissions. She had added some of her own stories to the collection. Her informants are:
Patsy Ansbro Age 84
May Adams Age 40
The games played in Patsy's childhood were top spinning, taws (marbles) ball playing.
INFORMANT: Patsy Ansbro, Age 84, Address, Prison, Balla Co. Mayo
A family named Herons who lived in Balla were digging a foundation for a cottage where stands the McEllin Hotel at present. They came on a pot of gold supposed to contain 2,000 guineas...
COLLECTOR: Mary A. O' Doherty, female INFORMANT: Patsy Ansbro; Gender; male, Age; 84, Tawnaghmore, Co. Mayo
The people then brought it to a little kiln on their farms and dried it there. It was then beatled with a beatle (a beatle resembled a cricket bat I am informed). It was then scutched with a scutcher ( a scutcher is also made of timber but is much lighter than the beatle, it is almost as thin as a knife).
There was a Jack Mahon in Ballymahon, Balla parish , who was supposed to have a "charm" for mowing. He would whet his scythe in the morning and mow till night and he could do as much work in one day as two men would do in two days.
This happened at Ballinamore, Parish of Kiltimagh, Mayo. The woman was a Mrs. Quinn. The neighbours always said that the family might thank the lepruchaun for their "good means".
The fair is now held on the street of the town, but some years ago before the land was divided and when the large farms were grazed entirely the fairs were so large that they had to be held in the fair-green.
The pilgrims used to bring water from the well in bottles and leave little gifts behind as offerings to God. The women would leave a little of their shawls or cloaks.
Seventy years ago, flax was grown by every farmer in this district
Tavanagh Road which is east of this school is 1,000 years old. It leads from Bohola to Balla.