A local man from the Kells area said that as far back as he can remember the Tardree forest area always had a scary reputation. That's where the bogie man hung out - whoever or whatever the bogie man of the day should be. And maybe those tales were told in his grandfather's time and all the grandfathers that ever went before, right back to the time of the faeries.
So is Tardree a place where mountain bikers cycle and horse riders amble and families picnic and dog walkers exercise? Or is it a place of shady assignations, drug deals and illegal raves? Are there caches of terrorist guns buried there and men with machetes chasing innocents all the way to Ballymena? Are there malevolent faeries watching over it all?
All of the above I should think.
8 comments:
I grew up in northern New England and there were forests aplenty. It's interesting how some of them were beautiful and peaceful and others seemed slightly malevolent. I wonder if the fairies made it over the Atlantic and settled in the New World.
Bound to have. A faerie would easily fit into a long pocket.
Growing up in the pacific Northwest..(seattle)..our parents would tell us to never go into the forest because of sasquatch (bigfoot)...it worked...I would never go into the forest.
Would you go in the forest now?
Irish forests are managed and on the small side - I'd imagine Sasquatch-type forests would be very big and scary.
Yes, I love the forest now. Also now that I am older I realize Sasquatch would rather chase boys than girls.
Ah yes - infamous Tardree. David Raineys Dad told me a particularly horrific story about Tardree. Or maybe it was David - either way it was about a couple who were parked up there and something along the lines of a gang of people emerging from the woods carrying lamps and they had cloaks over their heads and they tied this couple to trees and I think one of them was killed.
Ah - I just remembered that the lady survived and apparently spent the rest of her life in the psychiatric hospital that I forget the name of. Tober-something?
Hhhmmm - I dunno if theres any truth in it - maybe ask David next tme you see him!
I have run in Tardree 3-4 times per week for he last 15 years at all times of the day. In all that time I have never seen anything vaguely scary.
In recent years the nicer tracks through the trees have been ruined by mountain bikers who seem intent on turning the once lovely moss covered paths into a muddy swamps, and leaving as much litter as possible behind.
Agree with you about the mountain bike tracks. They do spoil the paths and tracks.
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