Joe Mahon is in Annaclone in the heart of County Down,
between Rathfriland and Banbridge. This is an area steeped in history and
folklore, the home of the Magennis chieftains. Local historian Adrian Clarke
tells Joe about the ancient cairns, or burial places, and the famous Ardbrin
Horn, now in the National History Museum of Dublin.
This is the home of
the Bronte family, the ancestors of the famous writers. Dominic McNally tells
of the exciting archaeological discoveries of the area of Knockveagh. Michael
Wallace, a young member of the Annaclone Historical Society, talks of the important
project of mapping the local townlands. We meet the lovely Cissie McGivern, who
is full of stories and still young at 99. She teaches Joe how to knit socks and
even plays the harmonica. Finally, Eddie McAleenon shows Joe how to make a hay
churn - a plaited braid of hay hung up in the house for luck at the end of the
harvest.