Great story Riobard! Why do Irish women not want their true age known? I figure that I earned every wrinkle and am blessed with each year on the right side of the grass! Happy Easter to you and Joan and your family. Sent from my iPad On Mar 29, 2013, at 12:40 PM, "Riobard O' Dwyer" <[email protected]> wrote: > *Good Friday !! ---- and I am about to tell ye a story like this !! A > Commandment says: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy > neighbour". But, sure, I'm only telling ye the truth. It is a story that I > heard from my father (R.I.P.) many, many years ago about the "Rabach", > Maire Keagh, and Timothy Sullivan(Maligo). > * > * In 1824, Daniel Sullivan(Raib) --- known better as the Rabach > [pronounced like Rawbuck], was tenant of a few acres of rough ground in a > remote, almost inacessible valley, surrounded by hills on both sides. It > was known as Cumeengadhra, and was very close to the beautiful Glenmore > Lake in Co. Kerry, which, in turn, was fairly close to Ardgroom, in the > Eyeries Parish in Beara. Daniel Sullivan Raib's family were joint tenants > with a Sullivan(Keagh) family. The Rabach's mother and the nearby Maire > Keagh's husband's father were sister and brother. > * > * One evening late, a man looking for lodging for the night, came to > the house of the Rabach. It was thought that he was a shipwrecked sailor > who had escaped from a British ship anchored in Castletownbere Harbour. But > the sailor had a bit of money on him, so he was murdered by the Rabach by > cutting his throat, and then burying his body in a nearby bog. > * > * The Sullivan Keagh man was preparing firkins of butter to be carried > by horse and cart to the Cork market, about 80 miles away. His wife Maire > happened to look in the Rabach's gable window, and she saw the murdered > sailor. She told her husband, but he warned her that she was never to > mention what she had seen, in case the Rabach would murder them also. > Shortly after coming back from Cork, Sullivan Keagh took to his bed, and it > was said that he died of fright, thinking of what his wife had seen when > she happened to look in the Rabach's gable window. > * > * During the following years, the Rabach tormented the widow Maire > Keach. He stole her cows and sheep, and he made many efforts to drive her > out of her land and take it for himself. But, in one of his disputes with > her, she had the misfortune of telling the Rabach that she knew about his > murder of the sailor. One wet and foggy morning as Maire Keagh was up on > the side of the mountain milking her cow, the Rabach followed her and > strangled her. Being a big strong man, he dragged her body across the hillside, > and left it in the valley with the can of milk beside her, so that anybody > finding the body would think that she died of a heart attack. > * > * But wasn't the Rabachj seen committing the murder by another man > Daniel Sullivan(Skilty) who was watching him from an overhanging cliff > [This Daniel Skilty later worked in the Allihies Copper Mines]. > * > * A search went out for the Rabach, but he hid for 10 months in a > small cave in the mountain with an excellent view of the glens below. It > was nearly impossible to get up to the cave. > * > * Eventually the Rabach was caught and brought before the court. The > jury found him guilty and the judge sentenced him to be hanged ---- a > sentence which was carried out. > * > * The Rabach had 2 brothers, Denny and Mike. Mike and a man called > Tim Sullivan(Maligo) had a small farm near the side of the mountain beside > the lovely Glenbeg Lake close to Ardgroom in the Eyeries Parish of Beara. > Mike accused Maligo of stealing sheep. When Maligo was arrested, he said > that one day he saw the Rabach's two brothers kill a man called Johnny > Sullivan(Courneenach). When the case was brought to court, it was thrown > out because the local Parish Priest said that he wouldn't believe a word of > what Maligo said because of "Maligo's general character". > * > * Times were rough in those days. 'Twas a good job that the > O'Dwyers weren't around here that time, because if I was alive then, I > could also be murdered by the Rabach. Come to think of it, wouldn't I be an > awful loss to the country !! ---- and I know that quite a number of women in > the Eyeries Parish would have been delighted to see me disappear off the > face of the earth: why ? ---- because I let the cat out of the bag by later > giving their correct ages in you know what !! > * > * Happy Easter to all from > * > * Riobard & Joan. > * > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hello all, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> writes: > Why do Irish women not want their true age known? I think it comes from a time when a woman's marriage value was associated with her age. Of course, as the years advanced some women claimed to be older than they truly were in order to gain advantage from their supposed increased wisdom too. I know it got my grandmother in a bit of trouble with the Social Security Administration here in the US. When she came to the US in 1912 she claimed to be two years younger than she really was, and that untruth stuck with her all through her life, such that when she applied for social security payments at age 62 the government told her she was only 60 and had to wait two more years. -- Bill