We invited local school children to Bellefield House in Shinrone for a recitation of The Legend of Knockshigowana, read by Philip Holloway, a member of The Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland (RHSI). Afterwards, we asked the children some questions to gauge their level of interest and knowledge of folklore.

Knockshigowna is a townland in County Tipperary, but is well known in Shinrone due to the legend of Knockshigowna Hill, which stood on an old fairy ground. Before the retelling began, we heard that all the schoolchildren were already familiar with the story and had visited the hill previously on a school trip to celebrate their school’s 50^th anniversary.

The full story can be heard on the audio accompanying this piece, but according to the legend, a herdsman once grazed his cattle at the summit of the fairy hill, which disturbed and angered the fairies. The fairy queen tried to frighten the herder away by appearing in terrifying forms, such as a large horse with eagle wings and a dragon’s tail that spat fire or a small, lame man with the head of a bull. In each form, she would make harrowing sounds which terrified the herder and caused the cattle to start a stampede, which caused mass injuries among them. Due to the interference of the fairies, no herder was willing to work on Knockshigowna Hill. Along came Larry Houlihan, a piper, who was said to be particularly brave, especially after “a drop or two of the crater”. Larry agreed to spend one week watching over a farmer’s herd on the hill in exchange for food and accommodation for as long as he lived. As soon as he arrived, he started to play his pipes, which upset the fairy queen again, who attempted to frighten and intimidate him through various forms, which were all unsuccessful. Due to his bravery, the fairies retreated from the hill but vowed to come to his assistance if he ever needed it. Larry spent the remainder of his life upon the hill watching over the cattle, playing his pipes and enjoying the fulfilment of the farmer’s promise.  

After the storytelling, we asked the schoolchildren if they could tell us any other stories or characters from Irish folklore. They mentioned the banshee, described by one student as an “old woman ghost”. The mention of the banshee brought a story from another, who told us that her grandmother believed she had heard the banshee's screams after her father died. The student theorised that her grandmother may instead have heard a fox screaming. Other stories mentioned by the school children were Cú Chulainn and the Salmon of Knowledge, which they learned about in school.

Our conversation then turned to their everyday lives in Shinrone, which highlighted the customs of the local community.  We discussed the group’s love of sport, which included hurling, camogie, badminton, and Gaelic football, to name a few. One student’s grand uncle won a Leinster final with Offaly, which showed us how long sports have been a huge part of the Shinrone community. Other popular customs mentioned were a debating team, live music, horse riding and the Shinrone tractor run every Winter.

For our last question, we asked the group, “What is the best thing about living in Shinrone?” One student responded, “Everyone kind of is tightly knit, so everyone would help out everyone."

For the students of Shinrone, folklore isn’t just found in legends of a fairy hill. It is a part of their everyday lives, found in their shared stories, beloved customs, and strong community.