A long time ago there came a lot of gentlemen to a river which is between
the County Mee-òh (Mayo) and Roscommon, and they chose out a nice place
for themselves on the brink of a river, and set up a court on it. Nobody
at all in the little villages round about knew from what place these
gentlemen came. MacDonnell was the name that was on them. The neighbours
were for a long time without making friendship with them, until there
came a great plague, and the people were getting death in their hundreds.
One day there was the only son of a poor widow dying from the destructive
plague, and she had not a drop of milk to wet his tongue. She went to the
court, and they asked her what she was looking for. She told them that
the one son she had was dying of the plague and that she had not a drop
of milk to wet his tongue.
“Hard is your case,” says a lady that was in the court to her. “I will
give you milk and healing, and your son will be as well at the end of an
hour as ever he was.” Then she gave her a tin can, and said: “Go home
now, this can will never be empty as long as you or your son is alive,
if you keep the secret without telling anybody that you got it here.
When you will go home put a morsel of the Mary’s shamrock (four-leaved
shamrock?) in the milk and give it to your son.”
The widow went home. She put a bit of four-leaved shamrock in the milk,
and gave it to her son to drink, and he rose up at the end of an hour as
well as ever he was. Then the woman went through the villages round about
with the can, and there was no one at all to whom she gave a drink that
was not healed at the end of an hour.
It was not long till the fame of Maurya nee Keerachawn (Mary Kerrigan),
that was the name of the widow, went through the country, and it was not
long till she had the full of the bag of gold and silver.
One day Mary went to a _pattern_ at Cultya Bronks, drank too much, fell
on drunkenness, and let out the secret.
There came the heavy sleep of drunkenness on her, and when she awoke the
can was gone. There was so much grief on her that she drowned herself in
a place called Pull Bawn (the White Hole), within a mile of Cultya Bronks.
Everybody thought now that they had the can of healing to get at the
Court of Crinnawn if they would go there. In the morning, the day on the
morrow, there went plenty of people to the court, and they found every
one who was in it dead. The shout went out, and the hundreds of people
gathered together, but no man could go in, for the court was filled with
smoke; and lightning and thunder coming out of it.
They sent a message for the priest, who was in Ballaghadereen, but he
said: “It is not in my parish, and I won’t have anything to do with it.”
That night the people saw a great light in the court, and there was very
great fear on them. The day on the morrow they sent word to the priest of
Lisahull, but he would not come, as the place was not in his parish. Word
was sent to the priest of Kilmovee, then, but he had the same excuse.
There were a lot of poor friars in Cultya Mawn, and when they heard the
story they went to the court without a person with them but themselves.
When they went in they began saying prayers, but they saw no corpse.
After a time the smoke went, the lightning and thunder ceased, a door
opened, and there came out a great man. The friars noticed that he had
only one eye, and that it was in his forehead.
“In the name of God, who are you?” said a man of the friars.
“I am Crinnawn, son of Belore, of the Evil Eye. Let there be no fear on
ye, I shall do ye no damage, for ye are courageous, good men. The people
who were here are gone to eternal rest, body and soul. I know that ye
are poor, and that there are plenty of poor people round about ye. Here
are two purses for ye, one of them for yourselves, and the other one to
divide upon the poor; and when all that will be spent, do ye come again.
Not of this world am I, but I shall do no damage to anyone unless he does
it to me first, and do ye keep from me.”
Then he gave them two purses, and said: “Go now on your good work.” The
friars went home; they gathered the poor people and they divided the
money on them. The people questioned them as to what it was they saw in
the court. “It is a secret each thing we saw in the court, and it is our
advice to ye not to go near the court, and no harm will come upon ye.”
The priests were covetous when they heard that the friars got plenty of
money in the court, and the three of them went there with the hope that
they would get some as the friars got it.
When they went in they began crying aloud: “Is there any person here?
is there any person here?” Crinnawn came out of a chamber and asked:
“What are ye looking for?” “We came to make friendship with you,” said
the priests. “I thought that priests were not given to telling lies,”
said Crinnawn; “ye came with a hope that ye would get money as the poor
friars got. Ye were afraid to come when the people sent for ye, and now
ye will not get a keenogue (mite?) from me, for ye are not worth it.”
“Don’t you know that we have power to banish you out of this place,” said
the priests, “and we will make use of that power unless you will be more
civil than you are.”
“I don’t care for your power,” said Crinnawn, “I have more power myself
than all the priests that are in Ireland.”
“It’s a lie you’re speaking,” said the priests.
“Ye will see a small share of my power to-night,” said Crinnawn; “I will
not leave a wattle over your heads that I will not sweep into yonder
river, and I could kill ye with the sight of my eye, if I chose. Ye will
find the roofs of your houses in the river to-morrow morning. Now put no
other questions on me, and threaten me no more, or it will be worse for
ye.”
There came fear on the priests, and they went home; but they did not
believe that their houses would be without a roof before morning.
About midnight, that night, there came a blast of wind under the roof of
the houses of the priests, and it swept them into the river forenent the
court. There was not a bone of the priests but was shaken with terror,
and they had to get shelter in the houses of the neighbours till morning.
In the morning, the day on the morrow, the priests came to the river
opposite the court, and they saw the roofs that were on all their houses
swimming in the water. They sent for the friars, and asked them to go
to Crinnawn and proclaim a peace, and say to him that they would put no
more trouble on him. The friars went to the court, and Crinnawn welcomed
them, and asked them what they were seeking. “We come from the priests
to proclaim a peace on you, they will trouble you no more.” “That is well
for them,” said Crinnawn, “come with me now until ye see me putting back
the roofs of the houses.” They went with him as far as the river, and
then he blew a blast out of each nostril. The roofs of the houses rose up
as well as they were when they were first put on. There was wonder on the
priests, and they said: “The power of enchantment is not yet dead, nor
banished out of the country yet.” From that day out neither priest nor
anyone else would go near the Court of Crinnawn.
A year after the death of Mary Kerrigan, there was a pattern in Cultya
Bronks. There were plenty of young men gathered in it, and amongst them
was Paudyeen, the son of Mary Kerrigan. They drank whiskey till they
were in madness. When they were going home, Paudyeen O’Kerrigan said:
“There is money in plenty in the court up there, and if ye have courage
we can get it.” As the drink was in them, twelve of them said: “We have
courage, and we will go to the court.” When they came to the door,
Paudyeen O’Kerrigan said: “Open the door, or we will break it.” Crinnawn
came out and said: “Unless ye go home I will put a month’s sleep on ye.”
They thought to get a hold of Crinnawn, but he put a blast of wind out of
his two nostrils that swept the young men to a _lis_ (old circular rath)
called Lisdrumneal, and put a heavy sleep on them, and a big cloud over
them, and there is no name on the place from that out, but Lis-trum-nail
(the fort of the heavy cloud).
On the morning, the day on the morrow, the young men were not to be found
either backwards or forwards, and there was great grief amongst the
people. That day went by without any account from the young men. People
said that it was Crinnawn that killed them, for some saw them going to
the court. The fathers and mothers of the young men went to the friars,
and prayed them to go to Crinnawn and to find out from him where the
young men were, dead or alive.
They went to Crinnawn, and Crinnawn told them the trick the young men
thought to do on him, and the thing he did with them. “If it be your
will, bestow forgiveness on them this time,” said the friars; “they were
mad with whiskey, and they won’t be guilty again.” “On account of ye to
ask it of me, I will loose them this time; but if they come again, I will
put a sleep of seven years on them. Come with me now till you see them.”
“It’s bad walkers, we are,” said the friars, “we would be a long time
going to the place where they are.”
“Ye won’t be two minutes going to it,” said Crinnawn, “and ye will be
back at home in the same time.”
Then he brought them out, and put a blast of wind out of his mouth, and
swept them to Lisdrumneal, and he himself was there as soon as they.
They saw the twelve young men asleep under a cloud in the _lis_, and
there was great wonder on them. “Now,” said Crinnawn, “I will send them
home.” He blew upon them, and they rose up like birds in the air, and it
was not long until each one of them was at home, and the friars as well,
and you may be certain that they did not go to the Court of Crinnawn any
more.
Crinnawn was living in the court years after that. One day the friars
went on a visit to him, but he was not to be found. People say that the
friars got great riches after Crinnawn. At the end of a period of time
the roof fell off the court, as everyone was afraid to go and live in
it. During many years after that, people would go round about a mile,
before they would go near the old court. There is only a portion of the
walls to be found now; but there is no name on the old court from that
day till this day, but Coort a Chrinnawn (Crinnawn’s Court).