A giant of a man in Mullagh

WordSmith

I’ve never been to Mullagh. For readers not familiar with Cavan, this is a townland situated in the south-east of the county, close to the town of Virginia. I asked my friend, “Have you ever been to Mullagh?” She responded with an affirmative nod, “Yes, for the horse-fair.”

A horse-fair – I vaguely remember being driven through Virginia as a kid with my uncles and ending up in a field full of neighing horses baying with bartering men. Perhaps I have been to Mullagh?

Although I’m unsure if I’ve been to this townland, I’m absolutely sure I know of a man who has. I met him when I was ten years' old; a giant of a man who was a regular visitor to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands long before Fáilte Ireland branded them. Let me tell you the one about a man who went to Mullagh.

He was an old-school adventurer who came to our school to tell of his escapades. I listened with rapt attention to all his tales of derring-do in exciting lands. Little did I know then, that one of these far off lands was so close to home.

He had many tales to tell, but my favourite was when he visited a place populated by horses; wherein he taught himself how to talk to them. Initially he dismissed the horses' “neighs” and “whinnies” as unintelligible animal sounds. But, as he spent more time amongst them, he became to learn that these sounds with their varying tones and intonations actually carried complex meanings.

With time he found that, through mimicry, he could communicate with them; and the herd of wild horses eventually accepted him as one of their own. He began to greatly appreciate their lack of human vices, particularly cruelty and irrationality. Such was his love for the horses he rejected his humanity and lived as one of them, even taking to all fours to adopt their gait. As far as I’m aware, he lived out his days with the horses.

Recently, I wondered if the land of horses was actually Mullagh? And although I can’t say for certain it was, I could say it might have been. At this point I should tell you more about the man – his name was ‘Gulliver’ and his ‘Travels’ have been well documented. He came to our school in Manchester via Jonathan Swift’s literary masterpiece: Gulliver’s Travels, which our teacher read to us in Friday afternoon instalments.

Gulliver’s Travels are fictional, but the man who created them, his travels are factual. And we know that he regularly travelled to Mullagh and its surrounding environs. The literary giant stayed with his friend The Reverend Thomas Sheridan at Quilca House. It is understood that Swift took inspiration for Gulliver when he saw a local farmer known as ‘Big Doughty’ effortlessly carrying a calf over a gate. Reading Gulliver’s Travels retrospectively, I recognised parts of Cavan’s landscapes in Swift’s description of Lilliput; although I’m aware that this could be projection on my part. That said, it is documented that Swift wrote parts of his epic while staying in Cavan, so it’s highly probable that the mythical lands that have engaged millions have their genesis in Mullagh.

Today, I find it incredible to think that as I sat crossed leg with my classroom peers listening to our teacher tell tall-tales of mythical lands; that those lands were inspired by the very places I adventured in during my childhood summers in Cavan.

I first became aware of the region's literary associations back in 2019. In the library, I marvelled at the magnificent paintings of scenes from Gulliver’s Travels by the artist P.J. Lynch; I was astonished to hear of the novel's Cavan links, as I had no idea.

In my ideal world, Cavan would have its very own theme park ‘Gulliver’s World'. The UK have capitalised on that idea; it has not one, but four ‘Gulliver’ theme parks. That said, if the roller-coaster curators at Emerald Park are thinking of a new ride, they should consider Gulliver’s Travels – if that happens, you read it here first, folks.

To finish up, it turns out I have been to Mullagh, on quite a few occasions; a friend told me so. But on my next visit, it will be in the knowledge that I’ll be walking in the footsteps of a literary giant.