This one also has the more specific name of Leacht Abhartach (Abhartach's sepulchre). According to folk tradition, Abhartach was a fifth or sixth century petty king or chieftain with an evil reputation for sorcery. His terrified subjects prevailed upon Catha'n, a neighbouring chieftain, to get rid of him. Catha'n slew the wizard and buried him standing up in an isolated grave; but Abhartach returned the following day and demanded a bowl of blood, drawn from his subjects' veins, to sustain his corpse. Catha'n killed and buried him again, but the indefatigable man reappeared, demanding his cup of blood as before. Catha'n now consulted either a local Druid or a Christian saint-- there are variation in the tale--and was told that Abhartach had become one of the neamh-mhairbh (the undead) and a dearg-diu'lai' (a drinker of human blood). <br />
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He could not be killed, but could be put under restraint. He had to be run through with a sword made from yew wood, buried upside-down surrounded by thorns and ash twigs, and his grave surmounted by a heavy stone. Catha'n followed these instructions and the people of Glenullin ceased to be unwilling blood donors. In 1997, attempts were made to clear the land; in conformity with folklore, workmen who attempted to cut down the thorn tree arching across Abhartach's sepulchre allegedly had their chain saw malfunction three times. While attempting to lift the great stone, a steel chain snapped, cutting the hand of one of the labourers, and ominously, allowing blood to soak into the ground. Mr Curran himself suffered "a severe and inexplicable fall" after visiting the site. During a lecture in 1961, the Registrar of the National Folklore Commission, Sea'n O' Suilleabha'in, mentioned a site which he called Du'n Dreach-Fhoula (pronounced droc'ola) or Castle of the Blood Visage. |
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