John O'Donovan (1806-1861)

Today, as our seventh and  final excerpt from Canon Carrigan’s, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory,( v. 4 p. 98-100 (1906)) we feature the story of Glenmore’s legend, the Connawee or yellow hound. Canon Carrigan’s coverage of this legend is from O’Donovan’s Ordinance Survey letter of 30 Sept. 1839.

Canon Carrigan wrote in 1906 “the small field called ‘the Cunnia-wvee’ is situated on Davidstown hill, at the bounds of the townland of Attateemore. There is nothing remarkable about it, at present, but two small cairns, or heaps of stones, one about the centre of the field, the other close to the fence, at the north side. The former merely consists of loose stones thrown carelessly together. The later is of the same description, and measures 6 or 8 feet across; in its upper surface are embedded two large, rough blocks of stone, one having an artificial bowl 1 foot in diameter and 1 foot deep; the other having a similar bowl 1 foot in diameter and 4 or 5 inches deep. The deeper bowl always contains some water and is known as Thubber Phaudhrig, or St. Patrick’s Well.”

“The curious legend connected with this place is known over the whole Barony of Ida. It is embodied by O’Donovan in his ordinance survey letter dealing with this civil parish of Kilcolumb, in which he himself was born.” Cannon Carrigan then provides the full text of O’Donovan’s letter, but we are going to just provide the extract concerning the legend.

O’Donovan’s letter of 30 September 1839

“In the townland Baile Dhathi or Davidstown in this parish, not far from the High Road which divides it from Blackney’s part or Attatemore, is a monument of great antiquity called Gluin Phadruig…It consists of a blind well and a heap of stones on which is placed a larger stone with two remarkable hollows said to be the impressions of St. Patrick’s knees. The following legend is told to account for the origin of the monument.

“When St. Patrick was traversing Ossory for the purpose of building churches, congbhails and cities he came to this beautiful elevation called Conna bhuidhe, and being struck with the amenity of the place and the beauty of the prospect (for he was a great admirer of the scenery) he came to the resolution of building there a Cathedral and city which he afterwards, for reasons which will presently appear, placed at Waterford.”

“He employed labouring men to dig the foundations of the Cathedral and houses, and masons to build them, and continued the work with cheerfulness and vigour for some days. At last a pagan woman out of Ballinchrea (whose name is fortunately forgotten, but it is supposed she is ancestress of Nicholas Bacach, the Garsun Balbh and Sawney Ribby) came to him with an offering of a dish of roasted meat for his dinner, which Patrick received with many grazagams.”

“On uncovering the dish he did not like the aspect of the meat, and thought that he perceived the paw of unclean animal. He was immediately struck with nausea, and kneeling upon the net stone to him he laid his two hands over the roasted animal in the dish, in the form of a cross, and prayed to God to restore whatever animal it was to its original life and shape. And lo, he had no sooner finished his prayer than a yellow hound (cuin bhuidhe) started into life and leaping out of the dish ran in the direction of Waterford!”

“Patrick was struck with disgust and horror at the sight and turning to the working men he said in a solemn voice: ‘Pursue and kill that hound, for she will kill every man and beast which she will meet in her course.’ The men pursued her with their spades, shovels and pickaxes, and overtaking her on the lands of Treanaree about a mile to the east of the place whence she started, succeeded in killing her there. There they buried her, and over her grave a small stunted white-thorn bush is now to be seen, called Sgeithin na con, i.e. the little thorn of the hound. The stones near this bush are impressed with the marks of a grey-hound’s feet, and one of them exhibits the figure of a grey-hound in miniature.”

“In consequence of this ominous occurrence St. Patrick abandoned his project, but erected this heap of stones as a memorial of his intentions, placing on the top of it the stone on which he knelt whilst he prayed and which was stamped the impression of his two knees. He called the place Connawee in memorial of the resuscitation of the hound and pronounced an awful malediction  [curse] on the woman who had thus profanely insulted him, and on her descendants, and place of abode [Ballincrea, Slieverue].”

The Curse

O’Donovan provided 12 lines in old Irish, the translation is:

Accursed be Ballincrea’s people
   From whom the hound was sent to me

As long as bell shall ring in steeple,
  As long as man and time shall be.

Accursed the black breed of the woman,
   Who served to me this filthy hound

From their wry mouths thenceforward, no man
    Shall hear but foul, impious sound,

Accurs’d the place! Behold I strike it
    With my red bolt and seal its doom

May all good men for e’er dislike it,
    May it be curs’d with deaf & dumb.

“It is believed that the malediction of the great Patrick still remains in full force, as the inhabitants of Ballincrea are remarkable for blaspheming, and it has not been since the memory of tradition without a lame, dumb, or wry-mouth man. I could say more about the present inhabitants of Ballincrea, but I leave them under the patronage of St. Patrick, who will take care of them.”

The School Collection

The Schools’ Collection, contains statements and local items collected by school children in the 1930’s. Thus 100 years after John O’Donovan recorded the legend in his letter, John Knox of Ballinlaw, Slieverue, aged 76, for the Slieverue School Collection recounted the legend and curse for the project almost verbatim to O’Donovan’s original account.

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Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com.

The feature drawing of a hound above is courtesy of the New York Public Library from the 15th century. Spencer Collection, The New York Public Library. “Miniature of a hound, with text and 1-line blue initial” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1475 – 1480. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-eb96-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh