{"id":2959,"date":"2016-07-12T01:08:33","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T01:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2020-11-19T01:30:21","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T01:30:21","slug":"gurteen-lake-and-the-curse-of-the-mccarthys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/gurteen-lake-and-the-curse-of-the-mccarthys\/","title":{"rendered":"Gurteen Lake and the Curse of the McCarthys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Verse from another legend from Longford<\/strong><\/a> recorded by the Irish Folklore Commission<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Gurteen<\/a>
Gurteen Lake in Ballinalee (Image: Google StreetView)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Clonbroney the priest was travelling
\nWas making his weary way
\nWhen to call in on Protestant neighbours
\nHe decided to: was invited to stay
\nFor all children of Christ are Christian
\nNo matter how that they pray
\nBeware of the ghost, a warning!
\nA servant girl to the priest did say.<\/p>\n

Now, being a priest, he was not afraid
\nOf the living or of the dead
\nBut something troubled Fr McCarthy
\nAbout what the servant girl said
\nBut after hearing confessions was tired
\nLay his stole beside the bed
\nSaid no prayer to guard against spirits
\nBut set off to sleep instead\u2026<\/p>\n

He woke with a start as any man would
\nFor even the clergy know fear
\nA silent prayer muttered as at the end of the bed
\nA spectre, silent, at midnight, did appear.
\nIt reached for his stole on the bedroom table
\nBut Fr McCarthy was near
\nToo quick for the ghost he was
\nGrabbed the stole that he held dear!<\/p>\n

No one knows if the others heard
\nIf any in the house were awake
\nI hope they were not, at this evil hour
\nFor their souls and sanity\u2019s sake!
\n\u201cAt this time each night, for seven years
\nBe you between the foam and the surface of Gurteen lake!\u201d
\nThe priest decreed the spirit to do
\nSuch direction even evil ones have to take<\/p>\n

\u201cWoe to you McCarthy!\u201d The ghost in anger exclaimed
\n\u201cWhen those seven years have passed by\u201d
\n\u201cBe ye gone there forever so\u201d, said the preist
\nThe spectre disappeared in the blink of an eye.
\nFor the command of a priest a spectre must obey
\nA the moon shone pale in the sky
\nBut a ghost will have another way to have its revenge
\nThat men of the cloth can\u2019t deny\u2026<\/p>\n

Many years have passed since that night
\nThe locals still talk of it both common and prim
\nSome say cursed for McCarthys is Gureen Lake
\nShould one take a foolish whim
\nThe spirit shall take them down to the depths
\nShould they there foolishly boat or swim!
\nRevenge on all of the name of Fr McCarthy for all time there shall be
\nAND ITS ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!<\/p>\n

Now, I am but a humble writer
\nWho a verse of this story has made
\nAnd I can tell you as the reader
\nWho may by all this be dismayed
\nI dont believe in ghosts as such
\nOf superstition am not afraid.
\nBeing O’Carty, not even of the name as such
\nBut in Gureen Lake I wont sail or bathe!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Verse from another legend from Longford recorded by the Irish Folklore Commission From Clonbroney the priest was travelling Was making his weary way When to call in on Protestant neighbours He decided to: was invited to stay For all children of Christ are Christian No matter how that they pray …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,77,23],"tags":[115,806,3051,3050,3048,42,2342,3049],"class_list":["post-2959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-folklore-and-legend","category-ghost-stories","category-north-longford","tag-ballinalee","tag-clonbroney","tag-curse-of-the-mccarthys","tag-fr-mccarthy","tag-gurteen-lake","tag-longford","tag-north-longford","tag-priest","column","twocol","has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Gurteen-Lake-in-Ballinalee-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-LJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":549,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/old-clonbroney\/","url_meta":{"origin":2959,"position":0},"title":"Old Clonbroney","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"13th September 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a ghost story told to me by my mother, from her grandparents, either Kiernans Mill or Treacys. The roadway mentioned may have led onto the roads that lead to Old Clonbroney, or it may have led to a back wall, Im unsure. One night dark walking along A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Family Stories","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/family-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Old Clonbroney - the graveyard in the poem. Image from Google StreetView","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4115,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/on-deaths-embrace-i-shall-sleep\/","url_meta":{"origin":2959,"position":1},"title":"On Deaths Embrace, I Shall Sleep","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"5th November 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"On deaths embrace, I shall sleep With all my worries o\u2019re And those who liked or not, in memory me they keep They shall speak with me no more. For under blanket of the clay My bones till Worlds End will lie Pray not for me: for yourself pray: For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Death"","block_context":{"text":"Death","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Old Clonbroney - outside Ballinalee in Longford. Image from Google StreetView","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Old-Clonbroney.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2328,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/saintjohnstown-so-beautiful-a-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":2959,"position":2},"title":"Saintjohnstown – So Beautiful A Name","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"1st October 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My mother grew up outside the Longford village of Ballinalee. She always said she preferred the English name on it, St. Johnstown... called after the Church of Ireland church, built on the reputed site of a Greyfriars monstry dedicated to St, John the Baptist... Little village, from here her family\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Banagher"","block_context":{"text":"Banagher","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/banagher\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saint Johns Church of Ireland Ballinalee","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3508,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/cursed-crossbreakers-of-ballinalee\/","url_meta":{"origin":2959,"position":3},"title":"Cursed Crossbreakers of Ballinalee","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"15th February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A tale of sectarian attack by Orange Order members on a grave of a sister of Thomas Newcomen Edgeworth as it was in a shape of a cross, which they saw as Catholic... Here is the story on the Irish Folklore Commission The Celtic cross it stood over his dead\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Irish Folklore Commission - Poems inspired by records from"","block_context":{"text":"Irish Folklore Commission - Poems inspired by records from","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/irish-folklore-commission-poems-inspired-by-records-from\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saint Johns Church of Ireland Ballinalee","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Saint-Johns-Church-of-Ireland-Ballinalee-300x225.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5026,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/memories-of-grandmother-at-drumnahara\/","url_meta":{"origin":2959,"position":4},"title":"Memories of Grandmother at Drumnahara","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"11th August 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The shaking hands that set the plate Of ice cream and jelly that vibrate With an old woman's smile under curled hair I remember the jelly, wobbling there. Some old yarn with my mother, recalled I sat there, watching, silent, enthralled, \"But yer always scoulding\" it was said - Someone's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Family Stories","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/family-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The parlour in the Donohoe house in Lislea: by mothers father, brother and mother, outside Ballinalee.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lislea.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lislea.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lislea.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lislea.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4040,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/flickering-candles-foretell-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":2959,"position":5},"title":"Flickering Candles Foretell Death","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"6th October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A tradition of foretelling a death from North Longford... From the Irish Folklore Commission In days gone by a tradition old Of which the Church condemns though what they are told By clergy the folk pay little heed For superstition and tradition they had a need And so together on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Death"","block_context":{"text":"Death","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dozen candles set un a dungpile - the first that went out said its owner would die within a year according to old Longford tradition","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dozen-candles-set-un-a-dungpile-the-first-that-went-out-said-its-owner-would-die-within-a-year-according-to-old-Longford-tradition.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dozen-candles-set-un-a-dungpile-the-first-that-went-out-said-its-owner-would-die-within-a-year-according-to-old-Longford-tradition.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dozen-candles-set-un-a-dungpile-the-first-that-went-out-said-its-owner-would-die-within-a-year-according-to-old-Longford-tradition.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dozen-candles-set-un-a-dungpile-the-first-that-went-out-said-its-owner-would-die-within-a-year-according-to-old-Longford-tradition.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Dozen-candles-set-un-a-dungpile-the-first-that-went-out-said-its-owner-would-die-within-a-year-according-to-old-Longford-tradition.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2959"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4821,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959\/revisions\/4821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}