Browne — Jlie Ethnography of Garnmna and LettennuUen. 261 



a person is sick, fire will not be given out of the honse in Tvhich he is. 

 To trip or fall in a graveyard is looked upon as portending death 

 within a year. Salt is taken in the pocket when going to a funeral 

 to avert evil influences. The appearance of a number of primpulans 

 ( Geotrupes stercorarius) or large dung beetles flying about in the even- 

 ing is looked upon as a sign of good weather to come, and it is con- 

 sidered to be a very unlucky action to kill one of these insects. The 

 helief in death warnings or omens is general, and some of these are 

 from the actions of animals, as four magpies seen together, tlie 

 appearance of ravens about a house. Others are of a supernatural 

 character. It is said that "when a boat is about to be drowned" a 

 man without a head is sometimes to be seen in it. Before a death 

 occurs in a honse the sounds of someone making a coffin may 

 be heard outside at night. Near a village or hamlet (Creggs) in 

 Lettermullen is a curious rock in which local rumour says that a 

 child's voice may be heai'd crying previous to the death of any of the 

 children of this village. The death coach is believed in by most, and 

 a man from this district is said to have seen it on his way to county 

 Mayo, and to have died shortly after. It is thought also that in some 

 cases before a person dies his apparition or wraith may be seen by 

 some of the neighbours to walk past them and suddenly vanish ; as 

 apparitions of various kinds are thus still a matter of common faith, 

 the people do not like to be out after nightfall on this account. 

 The spirit of the person last buried in a graveyard has to watch 

 until the next funeral. Mr. Michael Lavelle was informed by some 

 of the people that a Mayo-man cannot be harmed by a ghost "on account 

 of St. Patiick." Among the aj^pearances seen in these islands is a 

 merman of whom the fishermen talk much. He is said to have been 

 a drowned man, and men who claim to have seen him describe 

 him as having long black hair, a flat face, a double chin, and webbed 

 hands. Another water monster said to be sometimes seen is the water 

 fiorse or JSach Uisge, which is said to haunt two of the lakes, and of 

 which several stories are told. If, on this creature's emergence from 

 the water, a man sees it first the apparition will do him no harm, but 

 if on the contrary the water-horse should first set eyes on the man the 

 latter will certainly die within the year. A story is told of a woman 

 who lived in a house beside the largest and most southerly of the lakes 

 in Garumna who happened to come suddenly across one of these 

 creatures which shook himself so as to sprinkle the water shaken ofl" 

 ■over the woman, who became paralysed in consequence. 



There is thought to be a connexion of some sort between the 



