THE CORRAN HERALD A Ballymote Herita ge Group Production ISSUE NO. 9 :; APRIL EDITION 1987 :: PRICE: 40p MADAM E ....... The Rebel Countess JIM McGARRY Towards the end of the last Of the big field only four THE century, a big crowd had were seriously in the running gathered on Claragh Hills, approaching the last double TITANIC Co. Sligo for the annual point bank, three men and the to point meeting of O'Hara's solitary female, riding neck to Harriers. It was a bitterly cold neck. The flag-poles marking day, intensified on the bleak, the course over the bank The Cloonagashel shelterless hills. But it was lit were just sufficiently wide by the personality of a local apart to allow three horses to Connection heroine of the hunting field, cross it abreast. The three immaculately attired and riders decided this was the A letter from Sr. Monessa King of superbly mounted. place to shake off the Needham, Mass., U.S.A. to George Ladies' Races had not been favourite. But they reckoned Hannan of Cloonagashel has introduced at that time and so revealed how a quirk of fate without the indomitable probably saved the lives of it was that in the principal courage and horsemanship of George's mother, Hannah (nee open race, there was a their opponent. It looked like King) and Charlie King when the solitary lady rider in a dark suicide as the four riders Titanic sank on the night of April green riding habit, riding 14th, 1912, with 1,500 casualities. raced n a solid phalanx to the Charlie King of Cambs had side-saddle. A renowned bank , with the favourite on returned to Ireland on the vacation horsewoman whose breath- the inside. Instead of in the spring of 1912. Charlie had taking exploits cross-country slackening her speed as the booked his return passage to the were the topic of the day - U.S. on the Titanic. His cousin, others expected, she lifted Hannah King, then aged 15, was she was the focus of all eyes her crop and drove for the as she weighed in for the big anxious to emigrate and Charlie bank, landed on it a stride in was to take her under his wing race. Finally she emerged front of the others, was first for the vogage. However, some from the saddling enclosure off it and first home. The hill of heart-searching and indecision on to a spontaneous cheer from Claragh echoed the wild the part of Hannah's parents caused the spectators. both Charlie and Hannah to miss applause of the excited the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Many of the best point to crowd for their favourite's Titanic. No doubt the subsequent point riders in Connaught win. It was yet another story disaster dispelled any were in the big field, but to add to her already annoyance Charlie King may have felt as a result of the upsetting of his there was no doubt about the legendary epic of horseman- travel arrangements. favourite with the crowd. ship. Contd. Page 14 Eventually, Hannah King decided against emigration and she later married Josie Harmon of Happy Easter Wishes O'Connell Street, Ballymote. 2 The .Year of the Blizzard By P.J. DUFFY February 23rd, the storm On the leaves of Forty years ago this month, had blown over, and the thatched houses huge icicles the country shivered in what, great search to locate sheep clear as crystal glass pointed so far, has been the worst. and cattle got underway. It towards the ground, and at snowstorm of the century, was here that the use of a dog the outlets from spring wells, and for many people a sort of became a major source of ice crystals formed nightly as dark never to be forgotten assistance, in locating live the surplus water edged its phenomenon. animals trapped in their snow way through freezing February 21st, 1947 was a tunnels, for although large temper-atures. bitter cold day which had numbers had perished there Mention of icicles reminds been preceded by weeks of were still hundreds of me of a little incident which similar harsh weather, in survivors trapped in this way. took place at the time, when a which black frost froze the In the case of the sheep, local chap went to a lakes and rivers of the what usually happened was neighbours house to have a country. In the afternoon a that they moved into circles, number of buttons sewn into stiff North Easterly breeze heads together, pointing the waist of his trousers. The began carrying with it specks upwards as the drifting snow job of sewing the buttons fell of tiny snowflakes which pitted them in. The sustained to a girl who lived next door, continued to fall up until the heat rising from their breath but who happened to be time people retired to their often melted the snow to a visiting at the time. In order to beds. Many harboured hopes height of several feet above avail of the maximum amount that the presence of snow where they stood, and this of light, didn't she stand your would bring about a enabled them to receive man at the door leading to the softening in weather enough air to survive until kitchen. As she finished conditions resulting in the help, which often took days, sewing the last button she thaw. arrived. reached out, plucked an On the following morning Overnight the whole icicle from the eve of the all hopes of improvement landscape had taken on a sort house and thrust it down the were dashed as a fierce of Antartic resemblance, as waist of the trousers. The blizzard driven by a biting drifts, some as high as poor fellow let go a yell, and wind swept the whole fourteen feet, stood on her shouted `What's that' as the countryside. The atmosphere with the highest hedgerows. chilly ice slid past his changed to darkness as the The strong wind currents privates, and down the leg of powdery snow whirled about prevailing on the day of the his trousers. in the directions. Roads storm had blown the snow Although the world war become impassable with all into the most beautiful curves had come to an end almost traffic coming to a complete and contours you could ask to two years previously, food standstill. see. I have often since rationing was still being Outlying livestock, which thought, what a study it enforced by the Government had sought shelter alongside would have been for a of the day. Streams of ditches and hedges shivered, modern day artist. The shoppers plodded daily and many suffocated as the following through the snowdrifts en piling snow mounted above sunny days which followed in route to the local town. their heads. The more the wake of the blizzard were Towards nighttime they delicate ones succumbed in turn followed by nights of would return home, carrying because of the freezing severe frost, which turned the on their backs the weekly temperatures. snowdrifts into rock solid rations. The desperate conditions masses that looked like The remains of persons prevailing on the day of glaciers. As a youth, I clearly who died during the storm, February 22nd made it remember walking across and in the week that impossible for most livestock the Owenbeg river on top of a followed, had to be taken to to be accounted for, and even snowdrift, and listening to the Church and local to unlatch the bolt in an iron water gurgling below under cemetary, either by sleigh or gate meant that your hand the ice at a depth of about hand barrow, the latter stuck to the bolt. eight feet. device being a crude 3 construction made up of a sheet of galvanised iron supported by two long joists of timber. The coffin was then mounted on top of this frame, and working in relays of four at mounted on top of this frame, and working in relays LORD EDWARD ST., BALLYMOTE of four at a time, the young men of the area took the WE DESIGN AND PRINT NEWSLETTERS, Sports Programmes, remains of the deceased BOOKS & REPORTS, TYPESETTING Posters, Raffle Tlckets Dance Tickets, AND PHOTOCOPYING person on this makeshift bier, Sponsor Cards, to its final resting place. Invoice Books Let's remember that the Letterheads, blizzard followed in the wake Business Cards of the disastrous harvest of WE SUPPLY TROPHIES, MEDALS AND ALSO 1944, at a time when people PLAQUES FOR ALL SPORTING EVENTS Wedding Stationery were still being compelled to till one fourth of all, their 071-83282 arable lands. In September of that year, the authorities recruited an emergency Labour force to assist farmers in salvaging whaat remained of their weather beaten crops. With the arrival of SR. CONSILIO March fodder for livestock got scarcer and scarcer, as A the prevailing harsh weather tribute to her achievements kept up the increase in appetite. Hay which usually If you mention allowed into the band dido sold at five shillings, now the name of Sr Consilio in occur-there fetched the staggering sum of Collooney the immediate ion; we thirty shillings her hundred reponce is `ah she was great, unaware weight (8 stones). she did a lot for the children'. We already r . As one of her proteges I `drm,fs,l,t,d,' and In the end there wasn't endorse the response and a fine rendering of `Seánin o . enough to go around, with the would add much more. Sr an Rothar, aon, dó, trí or `I'm a result that cattle died by the Consilio gave many many little teapot' with actions of score, and in all areas the children the opportunity to course.