Eoghan Cron Ua Gormain
Taken from Inis Eoghain Heritage by Brian Bonner

In the townland of Ballygorman lived Muintir Ghormain, a family which had a long association with the area. They were custodians of the Holy Stone of Malin and guardians of the shine of St. Muirdhealach at Tobar Mhalann. At the end of the eighteenth century the head of Muirtir Ghormain was Eoghan Cron Ua Gormain. He lived at Gortlesk with his wife Onora. In accordance with tradition, many pilgrims called at his house either for the blessing of the Holy Stone or to accompany them to Tobar Mhalann.

It was a night in early November, the eve of the feast of Saint Muirdhealach. Eoghan, his wife and family knelt and said the Rosary as was their custom. Because it was the vigil of the feast of the saint associated with Tobar Mhalann, Eoghan reverently blessed his family with the Holy Stone. He invoked the blessing of Muirdhealach on all for the coming year. The family then retired for the night.

At midnight, Eoghan Cron was awakened by a persistent tapping at the door of his house. Rising out of bed he opened the window. It was a clear, bright night. The full moon rode high in a sky untroubled by clouds. On the street stood a tall man with what looked like a staff in his hand. The face of the man startled Eoghan Cron. On one side it was normal but on the other it was horrible and somewhat diabolic. A voice, hollow and ghostlike, said: "Eirigh agus tar liom go Tobar Mhuirdhealaigh". (Arise and come with me to Malin Well). The sound seemed to proceed not from the mouth, but rather from the chest. The timbre and resonance were scarcely human. Eoghan Cron was a man of courage. He had encountered many strange things, even the devil himself, in his time. For once, however, he experienced a very great fear.

Despite his anxiety, Eoghan Cron dressed in haste, went to the door and faced the stranger. The man advanced towards the door, leaving his staff leaning against the wall of the house. As he came nearer Eoghan Cron saw that the left side of the man's face was half-eaten away by a horrible cancer. The cause of the strange facial image and the distorted voice was now clear. Eoghan Cron lit a candle and asked the man to enter. The stranger did so. In the meantime Onora had entered the kitchen and she offered the stranger refreshment. He shook his head and in the same strange voice said: "Nil mian bia na di orm - ta me i mo throscadh". I desire neither food nor drink - I am fasting). Without further conversation the stranger arose, went out and lifted his staff. . Eoghan Cron went in front to show the way. It was then he discovered that the stranger was carrying not a staff but a crowbar. It could be heard hitting the road as they walked along. Every house in the townland was in complete darkness. There was an atmosphere of calmness and of peace everywhere, save in one place - the mind and heart of Eoghan Cron were sorely troubled. Was his midnight visitor mad and was his own life in danger?

Along the road the pair walked in silence towards Bulibin and over the top of Drumnakill. As they neared the sea the beat of the waves rolling over the pebbles towards the shore could be heard - there was no other sound, save their own footsteps and the metallic ring of the crowbar. A weird and nightmarish impression hung over Tobar Mhalann at this late hour. As the pair approached the area adjacent to the old church the stranger took the lead. He turned sharply to the left and went directly to the bottom of the cliff. Leaving aside the crowbar, he went down on his knees and felt with his hands on the ground. Working with speed and precision he cleared from the surface of a stone slab a thin layer of soil and vegetation. Shining in the clear moonlight Eoghan Cron could see a flat-stone measuring about six and a half feet by three feet. At one end a cross was neatly incised.

The stranger's intention could now be understood - he intended to open the grave. Lifting the crowbar, he deftly placed it under one end of the flab-stone. Eoghan Cron watched in horror. It was a monstrous crime to interfere with the dead. What was he to do? What could he do? The stranger soon brought Eoghan Cron to attention by signalling a most peremptory manner for help in lifting the stone. Working together, they removed the flag-stone to one side, Within, clearly visible in the moonlight, lay the intact skeleton of a very tall adult. The skull, with full set of white teeth still in place, lay there grinning in a most gruesome and fearful way.

As Eoghan Cron watched in terror he asked himself was this experience which he was going through a nightmare or a reality? The bright moon above, the murmuring sea behind and the firm earth beneath all spoke of actuality. Yet as he looked at the open grave and the strange man he wondered. The stranger now stood in silence for a few moments at the foot of the open grave. Making the Sign of the cross on himself, he knelt down and kissed with great respect the feet of the skeleton. Then he stood erect and walked towards the head of the grave with slow, deliberate steps. As Eoghan Cron watched he was reminded of the priest at the altar. There was the same precision, the same dignity and the same profound respect. As he reached the head of the grave the stranger knelt down and slowly, deliberately and reverently lifted a tooth from the jaw of the skeleton. He took from his pocket a clean handkerchief, wrapped the tooth there in and placed the relic in his pocket. The stranger now signalled to Eoghan Cron and together they placed the flag-stone in its correct position. Not a single word was spoken. The two then retraced their steps towards Gortlesk. At the end of the cosan leading to Eoghan's house they parted. The stranger, absorbed in thought and carrying the crowbar, went down towards the main road, Eoghan returned to his house and went to bed.

Exactly one year later, Eoghan Cron, his wife and family had said the Rosary and had carried out the customary observances connected with the vigil of the feast of Muirdhealach. They retired to bed. It was a night of Stygian gloom - inky darkness permeated the whole land as the lights were one by one extinguished in the area from Kilnoxter to Ardmalin. There was not a breath of air stirring. At midnight, Eoghan Cron was roused form sleep by a loud knocking at the door. He arose, lowered the window, peered out and challenged the disturber of the night. He soon recognised the stranger of the previous year. To Eoghan's query the man replied"Eirigh agus tar liom go Tobar Mhuirdhealigh". (Arise and come with me to Malin Well." But this time there was a difference: the voice that spoke was full, pleasant and human. Despite the extreme darkness, Eoghan was surprised to see that in some mysterious, inexplicable manner the man was clearly visible. The crowbar was in his right hand. From his left hand there seemed to radiate a diffused and extraordinary brilliance which illuminated his whole person. Looking at the stranger's face, Eoghan was astonished to see that the full bloom of health was evident on both sides. The revolting cancer was gone.

Eoghan dressed, lit a candle, opened the door and invited the stranger to enter. As he entered, Eoghan Cron noticed that he held his left hand in front of him. Through the loosely clenched fingers Eoghan saw the tooth taken from the skeleton at Tobar Mhalann the previous year. The man sat down in silence. When Eoghan was ready for the journey the man arose and said commandingly: "Biodh an lochrann leat". (Take the lantern with you). Eoghan placed a lighted rush candle in his weather lantern and the two went off without further delay. When they reached the grave the lantern was placed adjacent to the flat-stone. Its faint light dispelled enough of the surrounding gloom to allow the work of opening the grave to proceed. When the stone was removed the stranger, following the same ritual as before, reverently replaced the tooth in its proper place in the jaw bone. The grave was then carefully closed.

The two men returned to Gortlesk in silence. No word was spoken when they parted. As Eoghan Cron stood at the end of his loneen he could hear the footsteps of his extraordinary visitor receding down past Craig Mor and Caislinn. The accompanying clink-clank of the crow bar could be heard as the strange man faded into the darkness, and forever out of the life of Eoghan Cron Ua Gormain.

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