The Burning House

In Mounteagle, near Abbeyleix, there is a large tree standing in a field which is supposed to be all that now remains of an old rath. Some years ago there was a farmer cutting branches in the rath, and as he was toiling he noticed his house nearby on fire. He ran his best, and found when he reached the house it was not on fire at all. He went back again and continued the work, but after a while he saw the house again on fire. He went a second time, but found exactly the same as the first. The third time he went he found it to be the truth, as the house was burned to the ground, and thus he was left homeless. There is a similar story of how a man was cutting branches in the same rath, and his wife came and told him their only son had a very bad pain. He went home, and as soon as he stopped cutting the child was all right. He went back again, and when he commenced cutting the child got bad again. A third time this happened and the child died.