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Folklore
| A cautionary tale, summarised by me from 'Fairy Legends and Traditions' by Thomas Crofton Croker [1825]. The original longer version is at http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/flat/flat02.htm There was once a strapping young fellow called Carroll O'Daly, who was known in his homeland of Connaught as 'Devil Daly'. Wherever he went, he liked to show people how fearless and unsuperstitious he was. One evening he was travelling through Limerick, and began to ride along the road with a respectable looking farmer on a white pony. After a while, Carroll asked the man how far he was going, as it was starting to get dark. "Not far your way," was the reply, "I'm only going to the top of this hill here." "At this time of night?" "Well actually I'm going to see the Good People." "Oh!" said O'Daly. "The fairies, you mean." "Shh! Don't say things like that - or you may be sorry for it!" said his fellow-traveller, and he turned off onto a path up the mountain. Carroll was not convinced. A man like that going after little fairies? It must be more interesting. And even if it was true - what was there to be afraid of? He was sure he could take on a dozen of them - no, two dozen at least. He looked up at the mountain and set off after the sillouette of the farmer. It was trickier than he'd imagined. After three hours of scrambling up the rugged and sometimes swampy path, he reached the top of the mountain, where the farmer's horse was grazing. Next to the horse was the mouth of a pit, and he remembered childhood stories about the "Poul-duve," or Black Hole of Knockfierna - how it was the entrance to the fairy castle within the mountain, and how a surveyor had once attempted to fathom it with a line, but had been dragged down into it and never seen again. But he shook off these old wives' tales - why shouldn't he just bang on the door and see if the fairies were in, considering he'd come all this way? He seized a stone bigger than his two hands and flung it with all his strength down into the Poul-duve of Knockfierna. He could hear it ricocheting down with a terrible noise. He leaned over so he could hear when it hit the bottom, when SMACK!! the very same stone came hurtling up at him and gave him such a blow in the face that he fell tumbling down the mountain, bouncing from one crag to another. Next morning O'Daly was found lying on the road, his nose broken and his head all cut up, and his eyes closed with the bruises. After that he never rode alone near the haunts of the fairies after dusk, nor sought any information from people who kept the good people's company. |
Posted by Rhiannon19th June 2006ce Edited 19th June 2006ce
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