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As a kid growing up in a nearby estate which shall remain
nameless suffice to say I do have many good memories of
it. Crebilly and its surrounding area was always of great
fascination to myself and the acquaintences I found myself
with. Many adventures were had in and around the area
known as the white gates, as much legend as is Squire
O'Hara............ The story as I know it has
quite a few more subtleties to it than what these pupils
have written.
I remember being about 11 and doing a bit of research
on The O'Haras famous five style. So between what I
researched, heard off eager pensioners and a little
bit of adlibing this is the way I see it. Rumour has
it that well I'll tell you that after the rest of course!!!
Sometime in the earlier centuries Squire O'Hara was
probably one of the wealthiest landowners in Borough
and had extensive contacts thru out Ireland and the
U.S.A. and had been called off for some important business
abroad being the nobleman that he was he was married
(possibly!!!) in his early twenties to a most beautiful
maiden..............
Unbeknownest to Squire O'Hara his beloved was having
an affair with his most trusted friend so when ever
a chance arose the two lovers would be together, returning
from abroad earlier than expected O'Hara was in jubilant
mood and couldn't wait to see his love after his absence.
It was a dark stormy night when Squire came to his
home at Crebilly, on entering the mansion he was greeted
as usual by his butler but was aware that his attention
was trying to be diverted he raced upstairs and his
trusted friend and wife in embrace he fell to his knees
he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He arose in
a rage and cursed them both to hell and he would have
his vengance in this life or the next.
Squire tore out of the mansion in blinded fury enraged
by his lying mind, he stradled his horse and took off
down the lane. As he drew nearer he did notice that
the gates were closed but no matter his horse was more
than able to jump it but as he rose the horse over the
gates its two front legs caught the top of the spikes
on the gate and he tumbled backward off the horse and
was horrifically decapitated by the spikes.................
A few days later he was buried in the graveyard at
Ballymarlow in a full fitting column with a carved likeness
of him atop, but that night there was a fierce storm
and a bolt of lightning cut off the head from the column.
A few months later in the mansion there was gossip
of strange goings on around the land of O'Hara butlers
were terrified to spend any time on the property and
of course everything had been left to his love the estate
all their wealth but as time went on she became more
paranoid but did eventually bore a son to her lover
and a short time after there was a vicious fire in the
mansion and they all fled from it vowing never to set
foot in it again.
Rumour has it that the wealth buried in the basement
of his stately castle is still their waiting to be rediscovered
only thing is no one remembers the location of where
the mansion was built but every hallow'een he stalks
the land of the white gate estate searching for the
people that betrayed him!!
And yes I always believed Ballymena had a very high
level of storytelling. I now reside in Kilkenny where
I propagate our best kept myth, anyway excuse the spelling
and grammar......can't be good at everything!
Yours Mark
Can you shed any more light on this story?
Read an Article by Dr Robert Simpson on The
Ghost of Graigbilly
Jim Kelso believes that the column
of the Squire's monument wasn't sheared off by a bolt
of lightning in a storm, but was in fact made that way.
Read More on Ballymena's Squire
O'Hara
Click here to read "Ballymena's
Headless Horseman"
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