SUPERSTITIONS AND HAUNTINGS 255 



cross the threshold of a house, " God bless all 

 here." 



The custom of saying " God bless us " when 

 they sneeze comes from the legend of an old witch 

 at Carrig O Gunell (The Rock of the Light) ; the 

 ruins of the old castle are close to Elmpark and 

 just off the road to Foynes from Limerick. 



She sat there — any wayfarer who passed by 

 with his marketing was her prey. They fell sick 

 of the sneezing disease and sneezed until they died, 

 the old witch taking all their belongings. Too 

 many people were lost, and one young fellow 

 whose sweetheart had to pass that way to get to 

 the town, went off to a holy man to ask for advice. 



The holy man told him to go boldly past the 

 castle and sneeze he would, but if he could get 

 out De'ellen, God bless us, before the third sneeze 

 the witch's power would be broken for ever. If 

 not, he would die as the rest, miserably. It is not 

 easy sometimes to say anything, holy or otherwise 

 before your third sneeze, but the young fellow 

 set out past the castle. He went in the dusk so 

 that he would see the light burning. Directly 

 he saw it . . . Atishoo ... a struggle. Atishoo 

 . . . he deemed himself lost, then, De'ellen, he 

 gulped out and heard a crash and screams, and 

 stood amazed. For now there was no light, and 

 no castle but a windowless roofless ruin, grey 

 against an opal evening sky. 



But old nurse would always scream out " God 



