The Spell of The Fairy Tree, Ardagh, Co Longford, Ireland 1983

A fairy tree that depends on the life and death of the owner of the land on which it stands.

Mike Murphy reports for ‘The Live Mike’ from a fairy tree in Ardagh, Longford. The tree is on land owned by Jim Sweeney. Legend has it that when the tree falls, the last of the Sweeneys will die.

He is convinced that when that tree falls, he will have less than one week to live.

As Jim is the last of the Sweeneys, he is doing everything in his power to keep it alive. Jim spends a lot of time propping up the tree for fear that it might fall during a storm. Bachelor Jim is still hopeful of finding a wife to produce another Sweeney and thereby save himself from the spell of the fairy tree.

This episode of ‘The Live Mike’ was broadcast on 18 February 1983.

‘The Live Mike’ first aired on RTÉ 1 on 9 November, 1979 and was billed as an hourly, Friday night programme of comment, entertainment and surprises. The programme also contained a candid-camera slot in which Mike Murphy and his team took on many disguises.