Micí Mac Gabhann facts for kids

Micí Mac Gabhann (born 1865 – died 1948) was a famous storyteller, also known as a seanchaí, from County Donegal, Ireland. He is best known for his book Rotha Mór an tSaoil (1959). This book tells the story of his journey as an emigrant.

Micí told his stories to his son-in-law, Seán Ó hEochaidh, who was a folklorist. Later, Proinsias Ó Conluain helped prepare the stories for publication. The book was very popular and was translated into English as The Hard Road to Klondike (1962).

Micí Mac Gabhann's Life

His Early Years

Micí Mac Gabhann was born on November 22, 1865. His home was a small thatched cottage near the Atlantic Ocean in Derryconnor. His parents were Tomás Mac Gabhann and Bríd Ní Chanainn.

As a boy, Micí saw many families making a homemade drink called poitin. He also saw arguments between people and the police. His own father was even jailed for making poitin.

Micí went to school in Magheraroarty for a short time. But he said he never learned enough English to understand his teacher. He later said that a local man named Sean Johnny taught him. Sean Johnny had gone to a special "hedge school" when he was young. He taught Micí and other boys in the same way.

The Hiring Fairs

By May 1874, Micí's family was very poor. His mother, Bríd, who was a widow, took her 8-year-old son to a hiring fair. This fair was in Letterkenny. At these fairs, rich farmers looked for boys to herd animals or help with farm work.

A farmer from Glenveagh hired Micí until November. He paid Micí's mother one pound. Micí said goodbye to his mother, and he saw her face tighten. It was a very sad moment for them both.

Micí later remembered his journey. He was going to a place called "The Lagan." People from his home, Cloghaneely, called anywhere east of Muckish Mountain "The Lagan." This area had a bad reputation. People said it meant "slavery, struggle, and hard work." Micí thought about these stories as he traveled.

While herding cattle near Glenveagh, Micí made many friends. He also learned a lot of English. He heard stories about people being forced to leave their homes in 1861. This happened because of a landowner named Captain John George Adair. In November 1874, Micí finished his work and went home.

In May 1875, Micí and his mother went back to the Letterkenny hiring fair. They stayed the night in a ceilidh house. Micí heard a fairy tale there that he never forgot. It was about a "wheel of fortune" in Irish folklore. After that, Micí was hired by "Sam Dubh." Sam was a farmer from Drumoghill Townland. Micí lived and worked there until November.

Micí had been told that Ulster Scots people had no old stories or beliefs in magic. But he was surprised to find that many people in Drumoghill believed in ghosts and "the little people" (fairies). They believed just as much as the Irish Catholic people in Donegal. Micí especially liked Billy Craig, an Ulster Scots storyteller.

Billy Craig told Micí that the fairies of Connacht once fought the fairies of Ulster. Before the battle, the Ulster fairies visited a woman named Curly Mary. They told her that if they lost, the water in her well would turn red. The next morning, Curly Mary's well water was red. She knew the Ulster "little people" had lost. Billy Craig said that since then, the "little people" have not been seen in Drumoghill or anywhere else in Ulster.

Journey to Scotland

By the time he was fifteen, Micí had worked for different masters and mistresses in "The Lagan" for five or six seasons. But shortly before Saint Patrick's Day, 1880, Micí and his relative Conal Eileen decided to go to Scotland.

Their fathers were not going with them. So, Micí and Conal secretly gathered supplies for their trip. They planned to leave the village during the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. At that time, many young people from Cloghaneely went to Scotland. Micí and Conal knew that if they weren't found in the morning, everyone would guess where they had gone.

Legacy

• A bronze statue called The Hiring Fair was made by artist Maurice Harron. It was inspired by Micí's book. The statue was put in Market Square in Letterkenny in 1994.
• In 2002, a part of Mac Gabhann's book, "St. Patrick’s Day in the Klondike," was read aloud. It was read in Irish, Welsh, and English. This happened at Cardiff for the St. Patrick's Day Ceremony. It was held at the Wales National Great Famine Memorial.
• A special culture night was held at Mac Gabhann's old house. This was near Magheraroarty in September 2013.