The most notable bellman at the end of the last century was Markim. He was succeeded by Michael O'Sullivan.
Blind Fiddlers and Flute Players.—The custom of blind fiddlers and flute players, accompanied by members of their families, going on a quarterly circuit among the villages has now fallen into disuse. Formerly, when one of them entered the village he would be entertained, given two or three nights' lodging and a collection started for him. The boys and girls of the surrounding villages would assemble and these would be dancing until cock-crow in the morning.
Boats and Canoes Haunted and Made Useless.—A great trick to make a boat or canoe useless was to pretend to see it on sea with some mysterious persons in it, and that on approaching the boat or canoe for the purpose of speaking to its occupants, they disappeared suddenly as if the "earth, sky or sea swallowed them." If the crew were at home and not fishing that night, and the tale was told by a respectable person or corroborated by one who was not a notorious liar no person would venture into the boat or canoe forever after.
One-third of these visions were imaginary; two-thirds were founded by jealous neighbors and malicious persons who saw themselves outstripped by the success of some local families or crew as fishermen, consequently this superstition more rapidly died out.
Bodach.—This is represented by parents to children as the figure of an old beggar-man, at night looking through windows and making horrible faces against panes of glass, carrying a big sack and prepared to take with him children who he might find crying without cause or wandering out into undesirable places in the dark.
Children ought to be told the truth, namely, that faces made against the windows are done by members of the family in order to frighten them. These false impressions created in the minds of innocent children at such an early age make their lives so miserable to them in after years that they imagine every bush that shakes after dark is a ghost or a fairy.
Bone Fires.—The custom of lighting bone fires on St. John's Eve is very much on the decline in this peninsula. In Castle Gregory boys and girls used to remain awake all night, dancing around them for amusement. Bone fire is said to be derived from the Canduaoin "baun fire," a beacon fire. A bone fire might mean a fire of bones, a fire of corpse, a funeral pile or a fire for destroying heretics, but whatever be the origin of it, one thing is certain, that bone fires existed long before the dawn of Christianity.
Bone Setters.—These were persons who made it a practice to set broken bones, but the dispensary doctor quickly sent them out of business.
Brack-an-Tobar.—All the holy wells in the country are supposed to have enchanted fish which never grew larger or smaller, and some believed that water containing the fish, if taken from the well, would never heat nor boil until both water and fish were returned. People of the present day treat this as a fish story.
Brandon Mountain's Western Slope Held Sacred.—For a long time the inhabitants treated the western slopes of Brandon Mountain so sacred through reverence for St. Brandon and his monks as not to allow any living animal to be killed thereon except fish caught in the rivulets of Feoghanagh and Shaunakyle and given to the poor or taken by them as charity. The fish taken from these streams had to be eaten at once and could not be kept beyond the second night without eating. Birds within that sacred ground were nearly tame and hares when pursued by the hounds following in their tracks, as soon as the hares crossed the River of Feoghanagh, the hounds were stopped by the hunters. Cattle, wild deer, boars and all like animals therein were protected. I believe "Park Garrive" was about the last place here wherein hunting was strictly forbidden.