The Pooka parts 1 and 2.

And now as its November I will tell you a little about the fairy creature known as The pooka. I remember being told never to pick Blackberries after Samhain/Halloween because the Pooka was abroad at this time and he peed on the Blackberries. Not very nice is it?

 

The Pooka Part One.

November is the month of the pooka.  In Irish folklore it often appeared as a horse that galloped across the countryside knocking down fences and gates, and destroying crops. It was said that while in this form the Pooka liked to take its rider, usually a drunk, on a wild ride all night then throw them to the ground in the early morning. This person, already heavily inebriated, is also under the spell of the Pooka and has no recollection of what happened. This often accounts for the reason some people who, having gotten very drunk, report that they have no idea what happened the previous night. If you believe that then you’ll believe anything, I know my wife wouldn’t listen to that auld guff.

The only one to ever ride a pooka successfully was Brien Buru the High King of Ireland. He gained control over the creature through the use of magic. He used a special bridle which contained three hairs of the Pooka’s tail and together with his physical strength he was able to stay on its back until the exhausted pooka surrendered.  The High King then forced it to agree to two promises, first, that it would no longer torment Christian people and destroy their property and second that it would never again attack an Irishman (or woman) except those that were drunk or had evil in their heart.  The pooka agreed but very shortly afterwards reverted to its old ways. After all the Pooka’s master was The Prince of Lies., commonly called the devil.

Here in Ireland the pooka is believed to be an animal spirit and it has been suggested that the name originated from Poc which means he-goat in Irish. Another suggestion is that the name may come from the Scandinavian pook or puke, meaning nature spirit. However, whatever its origin there is no mistaking that the pooka is a changeling that can take many different forms human or animal, horse, donkey, goat, dog, cat or bull. Sometimes it has been described as a handsome young man or a beautiful young woman. When in animal form the pooka is usually jet black with fiery red or yellow eyes.

The Pooka is said to live in the hills and mountains and depending on where you live it can be helpful or menacing. It has been known to help farmers or cause havoc depending on its mood at the time. It is cunning and deceitful and because of this it has also been called the trickster. Because of its power to create or destroy it has also been looked upon as a fertility god and through its use of human speech a prophesier.

The form in which it most often appears is that of a black horse with red eyes, it roams the countryside at night tearing down fences, trampling crops and scattering livestock. In County Down it assumes the shape of a small deformed goblin who demands a share of the crop at the end of the harvest and some people in this area suggest that it is for this reason that they place a corn dolly in the field when the crop has been cut. This is known locally as The Pooka’s Share. In County Laois it takes on the shape of a huge hairy bogeyman who terrifies those abroad at night, in Counties Waterford and Wexford, it is said to appear as an eagle with a gigantic wingspan and in County Roscommon it is a large black goat with curling horns. In County Mayo the sight of the Pooka can stop hens laying or cows giving milk, and of course it stops me picking Blackberries.

The Pooka Part Two

Poulaphuca means Hole of the Pooka.

Situated at the boundary of the River Liffey between Counties Kildare and Wicklow this is the site of the hydro-electric power station. Here the river flows through a narrow gorge before plunging 150 feet in three stages. Under the second drop there is a pool and this is called the Hole of the Pooka. It gave rise to a story by an unknown Kildare man.

In November 1813 the Kildare Hunt known as the Killing Kildares were following the scent of a fox. The fox managed to evade the hunt until it was approaching Tipperkevin in County Kildare. It was here that a large fox appeared to the hounds who chased it towards the River Liffey.  At the same time a large black horse also appeared. It had no rider and none of the members of the hunt recognised it. Some suggest it was the Pooka.

The ground over which the chase took place was difficult, the fox and the hounds ran so fast that only one member of the hunt managed to keep up with them, a man named Grennan. He was followed by the black horse.  As they approached the gorge the river was in full flow following very heavy rain but the hounds were gaining on the fox and started to cross the river picking their way across the rocks. Grennan realised the danger the hounds were in and tried to call them back but to no avail, by this time the Pooka was tempting them onwards.  The fox was headed for a narrow ledge but when it saw the Pooka’s fiery red eyes it became so frightened that it attempted to jump the last few yards onto the ledge. It missed and fell into the rushing waters below. The Pooka however easily jumped the gorge and disappeared into the nearby wood but the pack of hounds hard on the scent of the fox fell headlong into the turbulent waters of the Liffey.  Grennan watched as fox and hounds desperately tried to swim to safety, some disappeared below the waters some were dashed against the rocks where they screamed in pain before dying. Grennan wept but suddenly his sorrow gave way to terror as he heard a diabolical neighing like an animal laughing from the woods on the other side of the gorge. He knew then that it was the Pooka.

In 1930, the writer of the original story described how he stood above the valley’s of the Liffey and the King’s River when a sudden sadness came over him and he wept at the site of so many homes that would soon be submerged forever by the Blessington Lakes that would be created to supply water for the power station at Poulaphuca. Between 1938 and 1940 seventy six houses were demolished and a series of bridges were blown up before the entire valley was flooded for the hydro-electric power station. The church of Saint Mark which was built in 1682 was also submerged and to this day some people claim to hear bells tolling beneath the waters of the lakes.