Browne — Ethnography of Bally croy, Co. Mayo. 105 



have appeared to one woman in chapel ! Satan explained to her that 

 he went to the church because people were so thoughtless there, and 

 the women went there mostly to criticise each other's clothes. Demo- 

 niacal possession is believed in, and a tale is told of a possessed man 

 near Mount Jubilee, between BelmuUet and Ballycroy. 



Considering the wild nature of the country, it is not wonderful 

 that ghosts should be met with, and phantoms of various kinds. The 

 people used to dread passing a spot on the main road after dark, as 

 the ghosts of people slain in faction fights there (it being on the 

 boundary between north and south Ballycroy) were believed to appear 

 there, and to haunt especially the families of the slayers. The ghost 

 of a sportsman, who many years ago met his death on the mountains, 

 is said to be sometimes seen. 



On the road between Ballycroy and Bangor, Erris, a phantom dog 

 sometimes appears, as does a white cow, whose appearance is looked 

 on as a death-warning. Several of the lakes are thought to be inhabited 

 by "water horses," which sometimes come on land and endeavour ta 

 coax unwary people to mount them, and then, having got them mounted, 

 carry them oif into the water. They are believed to be seen once in 

 every seven years. 



Among the customs observed may be mentioned wakes, at which 

 all the old games are kept up. These wakes are now only held on old 

 people, not on younger ones. 



The funeral observances have been described in another section. 

 A straw cross is placed in the roof of some of the houses on All 

 Hallows' Eve to avert evil. Eires are lighted on St. John's Eve 

 (June 24), as described in last year's report. 



At one time the most inviolable oath taken in this district was 

 that sworn with the hand on a skull; this is still believed in, but never 

 practised now. 



Straw boys (clommeraghs) go round to weddings, and dance with 

 the bride as in the Mullet. 



Practically no information could be obtained as to the leechcraft, 

 or folk-medicine, of the district. Several "wise" men and women 

 practise in it, but they keep their remedies secret as far as possible. 

 Head-measuring, the application of various unguents and charms 

 for the rose (erysipelas), and the use of charms for toothache, as 

 described in the other part of the barony, were all that any informa- 

 tion could be obtained about. Many local herb remedies are said to 

 be in use, but beyond this vague statement no further information 

 could be got. The only treatments of interest in the diseases of cattle. 



