Somewhere in the hill country of west Waterford, on a farm once known as Cusack’s in the townland of Ballinavouga, lies a field with a name that carries weight: Bán na Claise – the pale hollow. The account attached to it dates to around 1910, and was recorded as local oral tradition by a young man named Tommy Flynn of Ballinavouga.

The story concerns a man called Neidín Connors, who was preparing to drive his cattle to the early morning fair in Dungarvan. Before setting off, he stopped in at Reilly’s in nearby Carrigmorna, leaving the herd to graze outside while he rested. He departed for Dungarvan at midnight – a detail that matters greatly in what followed.

As Connors made his way along the road and drew level with the Bán na Claise field, he heard something that stopped him cold. From within the field came the unmistakable sounds of a football match in full swing – the thump and scramble of a game being played at the witching hour, in a field that should have been empty and dark. When he peered in, he could make out what appeared to be goalposts. He turned on his heel and went straight back to Reilly’s. Mrs. Reilly returned to the field with him to hear it for herself – and she did. The same heavy thump of a football carried clearly on the night air. But when the two of them stepped inside the field to investigate, the noise ceased immediately. When they came back out, it started again.

Local tradition held that this cycle carried a deadly warning: had they entered the field a third time, one of them would not have survived it. They did not test the belief.