Posts tagged Ansbro
Hidden Treasure

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

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Riddles

Some riddle by Mary Kate Kelly. See how many you can answer?

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Old Ruins

The ruins of a prison stand in this place and from that prison this district got its name....The hangman's name was Neilén Brady. He had a farm of sixty acres of the best land in Prison and this land is to this day called "Trían Neilén."

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Local Marriage Customs

"Straw-boys" or "clubberas" visit the houses on the night of the marriage feast. They dance and make fun. They dress in straw hats with sugans round their knees, false faces etc.
They expect to get drink and make mischief if they don't.

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Old Crafts

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).

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Local Heroes

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.

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Leprechauns

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".

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Local Fairs

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.

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