Whilst carrying out
research at Portlaoise local history library in August
2006 I came across a set of folk stories from The
Rushes area near Ballickmoyler. There were recorded by
an 11 year old as a school project in the 1930’s who
interviewed the old people around him for their
stories. I’m just getting around to transcribing them
now but I thought I would send you the first one. There
are 5 in all and I think they get progressively more
interesting as they go.
Tom LaPorte Jan2007
The Rushes
-
- The Rushes Inn, Rushes
crossroads
- "Established 1715"
- (Photos: Trish Downes
Website)
|
-
- The Rushes School c1975
(closed)
- Image by W. Muldowney.
|
Up to a couple of centuries ago this part of the
country was almost uninhabited. Its original dwellers
have passed away and there are few left who can furnish
us with any information regarding the locality.
However I have obtained some information from an old
aged pensioner named Thomas Keely who resides in the
locality of The Rushes. He tells me that he often heard
his father speak of one place as almost over-run with
big tell rushes, the height of a man, growing around
the district and scarcely any fertile soil except what
the people did to reclaim a portion of it. Hence its
name “The Rushes”.
There is a story told of a hare which came every
night and drank the milk from the cows belonging to the
people of the district. They were wondering what should
have taken the milk every morning so their suspicion
was so aroused that they decided to stay up at night
and watch what would happen. This they did and to their
amazement they saw a hare come to each cow and drink
the milk from them. They determined to pursue the hare
with hounds followed close to its heels and it steered
its course to a little house almost hidden by the tall
rushes. As the door was closed it entered by a back
window but just as it was jumping in one of the hounds
gave it a bite on the leg. They tried to gain an
entrance by the door and at least were obliged to
affect an entrance by breaking in the door.
They found an old woman sitting down on the hearth
before the fire. They questioned her regarding the hare
but she denied having seen the hare. They then
proceeded to search the house but failed to find the
hare.
They requested the old woman to rise but she refused
to do so. They then forced her to do so and in so doing
they perceived the mark of hound’s tooth on her leg and
from which blood was flowing.
They concluded that the hare was none other than the
old woman....
Source:
Portlaoise local
history library - Tom LaPorte Jan2007
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