The Monster of Lake Glenade

County Sligo

All monsters have one thing in common, they are scary and fierce some. The ferocious Irish monster of the lake is such an example. It is called the Dabharchœ, the "Hound of the Deep".

A long time ago, a bride who had been recently married, was undertaking the task of washing some of her clothes close to the edges of Lake Glenade. The water was splashing more than she had ever witnessed before, then suddenly appeared the Dabharchœ. Her screams had barely left her mouth before she was destructively consumed.

Terence, her husband, who just happened to be close by, heard the screams of his defenceless wife and quickly came gun in hand to the lake.

All he witnessed were his wife's clothes floating on the surface of the lake. His wife was no more. Then quite dramatically, the horrendous Dabharchœ appeared once more. Terence, quite the hero, shot it dead upon first sight.

As the Dabharchœ sank back into the water, a roar with the sound of a volcanic eruption was heard from the depths of the lake. The roar was quite phenomenal, in that people from miles around the lake came to enquire about it. An old man informed Terence that there were two Dabharchœs in the lake - a loving couple. It then became obvious to Terence, that the living Dabharchœ was in fact mourning the death of it's lost one.

The old man then suggested to Terence, that he should get as far away from the Dabharchœ as possible, because in the end, either he or the Dabharchœ would indeed die. Forthwith, Terence proceeded in riding his trusted horse as fast as it could possibly carry him towards Ben Bulben. However, the Dabharchœ was as quick on land as it was on water, and chased Terence.

Terence arrived at an old castle in Cashelgarran, Ben Bulben. The Dabharchœ had taken a short cut down the side of the mountain on the Grange river, thus it arrived head-on from the opposite direction.

Fearing for his life, Terence quickly hid within the castle confines. As the Dabharchœ approached, sensing only the one chance, Terence jumped out in front of it. The Dabharchœ had been taken by surprise and Terence rammed his long sword in between the eyes of the helpless monster.

That was that, and to this day Lake Glenade is a monster-free zone.