THE EAGLE'S NEST*

At the date already referred to (1817) a man named Andrew MacIntyre resided in Croghlin, not far from Bunglas.

Like the rest of his neighbours he found himself and his faunally hard pressed by the merciless encroachments of famine. After some time, however, he discovered a somewhat novel means of allaying the pangs of hunger, passing one day by the eagle's nest, he found there the carcase of a lamb that had been carried there by the old eagle, and only partially devoured. He easily withdrew it from the fat fledglings; and, lest the next dead animal, which he know the eagle would carry to the nest, would be wholly consumed by the time of his own next visit to the eyrie, (for he made up his mind to come the way pretty frequently) he fastened a ligature to their bills to prevent their touching the dainty viands until his return.

Next day he repeated his visit, and found quite a number of hares and leverets, still remaining untouched by the hungry eaglets. Having removed the dainties out of their way, he unfastened the ligatures for a little while, and threw them a mere fragment of the dinner which had been intended for themselves alone, for it formed no part of his policy to allow the eaglets to die of hunger. Such an undesirable occurrence would have the effect of immediately stopping the supplies. At length, when many had died of hunger or disease, and whether it was that the frequent occurrence of death in their midst had rendered the hearts of the survivors callous in regard to all its attendant circumstances, or whether it arose from the fact of many having dropped by the wayside, unattended in their last agony-what-ever the cause may have been, certain it is that MacIntyre discovered the limbs of a child in the eagle's nest.

On repeating his visits, other portions of human remains were also frequently discovered there. He thereupon desisted from his usual practise of robbing the eyrie; and to prevent such occurrences in future so far as it was possible for him to do he tied the eaglets with cordage, and set fire to the nest.

*From the book "The Cliff Scenery of South-Western Donegal" by Thomas Colin McGinley (Kinnfaela) 1867