{"id":2940,"date":"2016-07-08T04:43:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T04:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=2940"},"modified":"2016-07-08T04:43:42","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T04:43:42","slug":"lady-of-lough-gowna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/lady-of-lough-gowna\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady of Lough Gowna"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lough<\/a>
Lough Gowna which has a version of the Loch Ness Monster and a mermaid according to local folklore<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An eerie cry echos the evening air
\nThe mermaids plaintive song
\nThe saying among the folk that know
\nIs there will be a drowing before long.<\/p>\n

Some local have tales to tell
\nWhen by its shores they walk
\nOr meet for drinks in a local pub
\nThe lady of the lake is their talk…<\/p>\n

Dopping Hepenstal on the lake had a boat
\nThe “Nita<\/em><\/strong>” at anchor there was kept
\nHer keel too deep on the lake to sail
\nFor it did not have sufficient depth.
\nSo in its moorings in deep water it stayed
\nIts guests out to it in a small boat rowed
\nWhen the weather was pleasent, or the fishing was good
\nAnd quiet were the waters that flowed.<\/p>\n

One such night four men to her sailed
\nDined and partied, fired guns at the moon
\nHaving had their fill of food and fun
\nThe decided to return to land soon.
\nThree of the drunken party to the small boat
\nSafely the sides of the Nita<\/em> descended
\nThe lady had been crying at Inch Island the evening before
\nThe fourth man fell and the boat upended…<\/p>\n

The waters cold and the men were drunk<\/em>
\n The waves the upended boat wildly tossed<\/em>
\n The mermaid of misery had foretold true again<\/em>
\n All four in the party were lost!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/a>
The Nita was designed and built in iron in 1868 by Bewley, Webb and Co of Dublin for the Dopping-Hepenstal family of Lough Gowna in County Longford. Despite the fact that in her long sailing life the Nita<\/strong> never left the waters of Lough Gowna, she was of an able seagoing shape very typical of her time, and as she too was 25 tons TM, 44ft LOA and 12ft beam,
Source:
http:\/\/afloat.ie\/blogs\/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon\/item\/24138-was-this-th%0De-first-round-ireland-voyage<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\n

Another tale tells of a funeral held
\nTo attend four men of Columbcille set sail
\nIt was shorter across the waters than by road
\nSo sets the scene of our tragic tale.
\nTwo or three days before this day
\nThe Currys were at work on their land
\nA father and sun, who her the ladies cries
\nThe elder the omen did understand.
\nHe said to his son, still but a boy
\n“There will be a drowning before long”
\nOne of the Culumbcille men died sailing home from the burial
\nThe old Curry man alas was not wrong!<\/p>\n

The last hearing was in more recent times
\nAn old Miss Rudden on a summers evening
\nSaw a lady face up bathe in the lake
\nAnd heard her mournful keening.
\nOr it looked like a lady, and yet not
\nBeing old her sight would be failing
\nHer hearing too, but plain it was
\nThe sound of the creatures wailing.
\nIn time, inside the week its said
\nA lady local of unsound mind
\nEscaped from her families care in the dark of night
\nWho her corpse in the water in the morning did find…<\/p>\n

\"Me<\/a>
Me at Lough Gowna some years back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>These are but tales some people say
\nBut foolish folklore, mindless superstition
\nIf asked direcect I agree its so
\nBut me, I have my own suspicion,
\nThere may be more to life than meets the eye
\nSuch as this banshee of the lake
\nTo say a prayer who am normally not prayerful
\nI a sign of the cross on myself I make!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An eerie cry echos the evening air The mermaids plaintive song The saying among the folk that know Is there will be a drowing before long. Some local have tales to tell When by its shores they walk Or meet for drinks in a local pub The lady of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,77,54,168,2925,169,23,1],"tags":[1108,3034,3036,3037,3038,3032,3039,1110,3031,3033,2128,2342,3035],"class_list":["post-2940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-folklore-and-legend","category-ghost-stories","category-ireland","category-irish-legend","category-longford","category-myths-and-tales","category-north-longford","category-uncategorized","tag-derrycassin","tag-dopping-depenstal","tag-drowning","tag-foretelling","tag-gowna","tag-lake-monster","tag-lakefield","tag-lough-gowna","tag-mermaid-of-lough-gowna","tag-monster-of-lough-gowna","tag-mullinaleaghta","tag-north-longford","tag-ralph-dopping-hepenstal","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-Lq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5216,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/walking-in-belturbet-by-ernes-side\/","url_meta":{"origin":2940,"position":0},"title":"Walking in Belturbet By Erne’s Side","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"7th July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"From the well the calf it leaped As unwisely the widow chose For ease her load not too long to carry In a holy well to wash her clothes: - It is a belief that if sullied A holy well of water will dry Though it has been a plentiful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holy Wells"","block_context":{"text":"Holy Wells","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/holy-wells\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Story of the Calf of Gowna on Turbet Island walk in Belturbet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Story-of-the-Calf-of-Gowna-on-Turbet-Island-walk-in-Belturbet.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Story-of-the-Calf-of-Gowna-on-Turbet-Island-walk-in-Belturbet.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Story-of-the-Calf-of-Gowna-on-Turbet-Island-walk-in-Belturbet.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Story-of-the-Calf-of-Gowna-on-Turbet-Island-walk-in-Belturbet.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Story-of-the-Calf-of-Gowna-on-Turbet-Island-walk-in-Belturbet.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Story-of-the-Calf-of-Gowna-on-Turbet-Island-walk-in-Belturbet.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4030,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/when-its-bad-manners-to-say-thanks\/","url_meta":{"origin":2940,"position":1},"title":"When Its Bad Manners to Say Thanks","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"5th October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The story of a ghost miller on Lough Gownas Inch Island From the Irish Folklore Collection On the waters of Gowna there rests Inch isle On monastic fame, and the ringing bell The shores of which array Derrycassin, Culray Mullahoran, Dring and more places as well. 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If they did, I hope they did not mind, I hope my trespassing they did forgive, I came to see, to walk, to enjoy,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Irish War of Independence 1919- 1921"","block_context":{"text":"Irish War of Independence 1919- 1921","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/irelands-wars\/irish-war-of-independence-1919-1921\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Fairy Fort in Derrycassin Wood in Longford","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/The-Fairy-Fort-in-Derrycassin-Wood-in-Longford.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/The-Fairy-Fort-in-Derrycassin-Wood-in-Longford.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/The-Fairy-Fort-in-Derrycassin-Wood-in-Longford.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/The-Fairy-Fort-in-Derrycassin-Wood-in-Longford.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3932,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-lady-of-culray\/","url_meta":{"origin":2940,"position":3},"title":"The Lady of Culray","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"7th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"She was a landlords daughter Her lover not so grand It was illegal to be a Catholic You could not own your land Little had he to offer The future for them looked bleak But he had the love of a good man Which every girl does seek. But them,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Forbidden Romance"","block_context":{"text":"Forbidden Romance","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/love-poems\/forbidden-romance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Said to be Ralph Anthony Dopping and friends on the lake, the drawing had writing we cant make out. 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