The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0966

Old Graveyards 2

Page 154
There is an old graveyard in Drumboory-along Drumboory land.
It is hundreds of years out of use as the tombstones have sunken down in the ground and are overgrown with moss and grass.
It is round in shape and raised a bit in the centre. It is known as '' crocán '' and slopes to the East North and South. There are a few old trees growing in the churchyard.
There is another old graveyard in Killaghaduff in Kinawley Parish. Many people from the district are buried there. It was the burial place long before the present Parish Church and graveyard came into use.
There is the ruins of an old monastery in Killaghaduff - one of the wells is still standing and it is said that the well will fall on some funeral some day
Some say it will a funeral of an O Reilly
P 155
others say it will be McGovern. Others say it will fall when the second last person in the district is to die. The wall will fall on the last person left and bury him.
It is said that the old church in Killaghaduff was built in one night.
St ??????? ?? near Ballinamore
the people prepared to build a church. But the wall built each day was knocked down at night. They built it several times and in the end decided to stay and watch.
At midnight they saw an animal like a hare running in and out and knocking the wall so they decided not to build any more. The Church was afterwards built in the town of Ballinamore.
At the same place there was a a Holy Well and it was once interfered with and the Spring dried up and opened in another field about 4 mile distant.
It is at that Holy Well that the Station is now made on St. Brigid's Day.
P 156
Unbaptised children are buried in the drain leading from the cemetery in Killaghaduff. There is a vault in the graveyard too. There are several persons of the O Reilly family buried inside the walls of the ruined monastery.
In the graveyard at Kinawley Church there is a holy well called '' St Náiles '' It is very shallow-scarcely more than a few inches deep. There are trout living in it and it was always believed to be unlucky to interfere with them.
About sixty years ago a policeman in Kinawley Barracks determined to catch one of the trout and eat him. He spent several days trying to catch one in the end he succeeded. He cooked the fish and ate him and the next day he went crazy.

Informant: Eugene Maguire
Address: Gubrawully
School: Alt an Chuilinn
Location: Altachullion, Co. Cavan
Teacher: Brigid Martin

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Thanks to Bernadette McGovern who transcribed this and a great many other pages of the The Schools' Collection, from the National Folklore Collection Archives.

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