Often when an accident happens a father is lost
with his two eldest sons, or in some other way all the active men of
a household die together.
A few years ago three men of a family that used to make the wooden
vessels - like tiny barrels - that are still used among the people,
went to the big island together. They were drowned on their way
home, and the art of making these little barrels died with them, at
least on Inishmaan, though it still lingers in the north and south
islands.
Another catastrophe that took place last winter gave a curious zest
to the observance of holy days. It seems that it is not the custom
for the men to go out fishing on the evening of a holy day, but one
night last December some men, who wished to begin fishing early the
next morning, rowed out to sleep in their hookers.
Towards morning a terrible storm rose, and several hookers with
their crews on board were blown from their moorings and wrecked. The
sea was so high that no attempt at rescue could be made, and the men
were drowned.
'Ah!' said the man who told me the story, 'I'm thinking it will be a
long time before men will go out again on a holy day.
