Paddy Forde, Killinny East, age 11
Long ago about eighty years ago there was a great battle fought in our village. There was a Queen from the North also at the battle. She was fighting among the people and the Queen got killed in the middle of the battle. She had a great lot of precious jewellery. The men buried her standing up in the grave. The people say that it is in Burke’s field she is buried. The men planted a hawthorn tree over her grave and the people say that there are four black cats guarding the treasure there always. Cilleení was the name of the Queen. The grave is still there and plain to be seen.
From the National Folklore Collection, property of University College Dublin held in trust for the people of Ireland. Content was collected by children in 1937 and 1938, carefully transcribed under the supervision of their teachers and forwarded with great pride to form part of the Collection.
The Burren and Beyond 