As well as a fair day, another big day for people was the 15th of August, a feast day. How feast days were celebrated in our parents and grandparents time gives us an indication of what an integral part the church played in the lives of our predecessors. This is a relationship that has changed significantly over the years. Whatever the average Clonmany person's private reflections upon The Almighty might be, I think it's safe to say that the celebration of Mass accompanied by singing, dancing and sporting yourself is a thing of the past.

"On August 15th, there'd be sports in Pollan Green, and the next year they'd be in Tullagh. It'd be divided between the two. There'd be horse races and high-jump and bicycle races and musical chair. Charlie Coyle was a great high-jumper - he could beat the soldiers out in Leenan. The whole green would be alive with stands, selling this and that, selling ice-cream, with one man shouting louder than the other. There was one man there they called The Extortioner. The Extortioner was from Buncrana and he was the decentest man to go into. He was always round this way buying cattle and fowl. He'd buy anything - from a pig to a steamroller as the saying used to go.

The "Ex" owned the house that there was a pub in Buncrana, but he didn't run the pub. He sold the house in Buncrana and moved to Straid. After a while he sold up and Paddy James, who was working for Eddie Devlin and was married to Cassie Duffy, sold up McCrudden's and moved to Straid. That's how they ended up there and it was the wee Ex started the whole thing off. So anyway the crowd down in Pollan or Tullagh on the 15th would be like the crowd following the Missions in later years. The Ex would be shouting 'Roll in, Roll in,' and he'd have the whole crowd round him. Another man there was George Eiry, and he'd be saying 'What's he talking about Rollin' rollin'? The man's not all in it!'

"You could go to the gap any day at all in August and I think they used to go either the Sunday before or the Sunday after. They mostly went the Sunday before because I min' my sisters Sarah and Fanny and your [Liam's] mother would always go together on the second Sunday in August and I remember the way they used to go - up a near-cut by Winnie's - and they'd take a big cake with them that they'd made on the fire. They'd stay up there from maybe after dinner [12:30 pm] until there'd be a dance there at Paddy Neily Gracie's, down on the road at the bridge. There was an oul' blind fiddler out there in Urris by the name of Paddy Kelly. He was the only musician. He'd play from about 2pm 'til after dark, whatever time the crowd wanted to stop.

They'd go round and collect for the fiddler, because he was blind. He'd get the pension - about 10 shillings - but he made his living out of the playing.

"The 1st of August was Lammas, and there was a big fuss for that was the first prudies you would dig. Your prudies would be finished at the end of May, when you'd have the crop down, and you wouldn't have a prudy to put into your mouth. There'd be indian meal at eight shillings a hundred- weight and everyone would be making indian brochan, and it was only that you got for your dinner. So when the first spuds were dug it was a big occasion for Thanksgiving. They'd probably have bacon or beef for the dinner.

"December 8th was another feast day, and January 6th, and then St Patrick's Day. In my day everyone went down to the chapel with Shamrocks on their coats, not like nowadays. There was a band in them days in John the Shoemaker's, or Eoiny's. When that place went up for sale recently I went in to have a look around and didn't I see me brave wee band stacked up against the wall- wee drums, big drums, flutes, everything! I was wonder- ing what became of it. I hear they're starting up a band at the Cross these days -a ceili band. That'd be great, surely. There was more amusement like that in my day. John the Shoemaker was a great man for the band, and Eoiny was in it, and a man in Gortfad called Paddy who used to carry the staff in front and got the name Paddy the Staff. The band was always left in the Shoemaker's when the drumming was over.