Cian's Story

When my mum was small she used to play Rattle Snake, Skipping Rope and Hop Scotch. She would sing “in and out”, “Goosey Sausey”, “Blue Bells” and “A Tisket, a Tasket”.

How Ballyhip got its name; Ballyhip means mouth of the cave. Irish meaning; Beal an Clip. Years ago there were no churches but people still wanted to go to mass; it was dangerous to go to mass or even to be a priest. In Kilgeever there was an altar in a small Abbey. The priest would say mass to all the people. People would look out for any soldiers who would be trying to capture the priest. If there was someone coming, the priest would grab the chalice and crawl through a secret tunnel, under a big flag stone behind the altar. He would come out in a field in Ballyhip through the mouth of a cave. That is how Ballyhip got its name.
Weather; if the Reek was clear and Clare Island was also clear you would have fine weather for the day. If March comes like a lion it goes out like a lamb. This means if the 1st of march is a bad day then the last day of March should be a good day.

Writer: Cian McCluskey

Teller: Sandra McCluskey

The original hand written story is available below