Jack Dogherty was a fisherman who lived with his wife, Biddy, along the rocky coast of County Clare, Ireland. Fishing had been the family trade for generations, and Jack’s father and grandfather had lived in the same lonely place before him.
Their home stood beside a small creek where boats could shelter safely from the waves. Beyond it, however, lay a dangerous stretch of submerged rocks. Whenever fierce Atlantic storms drove ships towards the coast, many vessels were wrecked there, scattering their cargo across the water.
The Dogherty family had grown accustomed to collecting whatever the sea brought ashore. Bales of cotton and tobacco, barrels of wine, rum and brandy, and other valuable goods sometimes washed into the bay. Jack considered these unexpected gifts a welcome addition to his fishing income.
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He was not without compassion. Whenever sailors survived a wreck and struggled in the water, Jack would launch his small boat and do what he could to rescue them. But when an entire ship went down and nobody survived, he saw no reason to leave its scattered cargo behind.
Jack was a cheerful, good-natured fellow, and Biddy had no reason to complain about their comfortable life. Although she had left her father’s warm home in Ennis to live among rocks, seals and seabirds, her husband’s steady supply of fish and recovered goods ensured that their household wanted for little.
Yet Jack had one particular ambition that had nothing to do with fishing or shipwrecks. He desperately wanted to meet a Merrow.
Merrows were mysterious sea creatures said to resemble human beings in some respects. Jack had heard stories about them from his father and grandfather, both of whom claimed to have encountered these strange inhabitants of the ocean. His grandfather, especially, had been close friends with one. Their friendship had apparently been so strong that the old fisherman had once considered asking the Merrow to become godfather to one of his children.
Jack found the story difficult to believe, but he longed to experience something similar.
Whenever he spotted mysterious figures moving through the sea mist, he would row towards them. Unfortunately, they always disappeared before he could get a proper look. Biddy sometimes scolded him for spending entire days at sea and returning without a single fish. She did not realise that her husband was hunting for something far stranger than fish.
At last, Jack’s patience was rewarded.
One day, while walking along the northern coast, he noticed an unusual figure sitting on a rock some distance out at sea. It appeared to have a green body, and Jack thought he could make out a cocked hat in its hand.
He watched for nearly half an hour, but the creature remained perfectly still. Eventually, Jack gave a loud whistle and called out.
The figure immediately sprang to its feet, placed the hat on its head and plunged headfirst into the water.
Jack returned to the spot repeatedly, hoping to see the mysterious visitor again. For a while, he wondered whether he had imagined the whole thing. Then, during a particularly violent storm, he caught sight of the creature once more. This time it was performing extraordinary movements on top of the rock, repeatedly diving into the sea and reappearing.
Jack soon discovered that the creature was easier to see when the weather was rough.
But seeing a Merrow was no longer enough. He wanted to speak to one.
His opportunity arrived during another terrible storm. Forced to take shelter inside a coastal cave, Jack was astonished to discover that he was not alone.
Sitting nearby was the strangest creature he had ever encountered. It had green hair, long green teeth, a red nose and small pig-like eyes. Its body ended in a fish’s tail, while its legs were covered in scales. Its short arms resembled fins, and it carried the familiar cocked hat beneath one arm.
Although Jack felt a little uneasy, he decided that this was the moment he had been waiting for.
He approached the creature, removed his own hat and bowed politely.
“Your servant, sir,” he said.
“Your servant, kindly, Jack Dogherty,” replied the Merrow.
Jack was astonished that the stranger knew his name. The creature explained that he had known Jack’s grandfather long before the old man married Judy Regan. He remembered him fondly, particularly for his remarkable appetite for brandy.
The Merrow was less impressed by Jack’s father, whom he considered a rather disappointing fellow.
Jack quickly found himself at ease with his new acquaintance. He joked about how difficult it must be to stay warm beneath the cold ocean and wondered where the Merrow obtained his supply of spirits.
The creature responded with a knowing smile, hinting that he possessed an excellent cellar beneath the sea.
Jack was eager to see it.
The Merrow promised that if Jack returned the following Monday, they could discuss the matter further.
When the two met again, Jack noticed that his strange friend had brought two cocked hats, one beneath each arm.
The Merrow explained that he wanted Jack to accompany him home for dinner. One of the hats was intended for Jack’s underwater journey.
Jack was horrified at the suggestion. He could hardly imagine surviving a descent to the bottom of the ocean without drowning. He also worried about what Biddy would do if he never returned.
The Merrow laughed at his hesitation, reminding him that his grandfather had made the same journey many times without complaint.
Determined not to appear less courageous than his ancestor, Jack finally agreed.
The two walked into the sea and swam towards the rock. When they reached its summit, the Merrow gave Jack the cocked hat and instructed him to put it on his head. He was to hold tightly to the Merrow’s tail and follow him into the water.
Jack obeyed.
They plunged beneath the waves and continued descending until Jack feared they would never stop. He clung desperately to the Merrow, occasionally wishing he had remained beside Biddy’s fireside.
At last, however, they emerged from the water and found themselves standing on dry ground beneath the ocean.
Before them stood a comfortable little house, its roof neatly covered with oyster shells.
Jack could scarcely believe his eyes. Above him, the sea stretched like a vast sky, with fish swimming through it like birds. Crabs and lobsters wandered freely across the sandy ground.
The Merrow welcomed him and proudly showed him around his home.
Inside, Jack discovered a well-equipped kitchen where two young Merrows were preparing food. The dining room, however, was rather plainly furnished. There were no proper tables or chairs, only wooden planks and logs arranged for sitting and eating.
The fire burning in the hearth made the room feel surprisingly comfortable.
Then the Merrow took Jack to see his cellar.
Jack’s eyes widened when the door opened. Inside stood an impressive collection of pipes, kegs, barrels and hogsheads filled with spirits.
He had never seen such a fine supply of drink.
Dinner was equally remarkable. The two friends returned to the dining room, where a generous meal had been prepared. There were turbot, sturgeon, sole, lobsters, oysters and many other kinds of fish. The Merrow also produced an abundance of foreign spirits.
Jack ate and drank with considerable enthusiasm. As they enjoyed their meal, he finally asked his host for his name.
The Merrow introduced himself as Coomara.
Jack immediately raised another shell of brandy to celebrate their friendship. Coomara, amused by Jack’s good wishes for him to live another fifty years, explained that such a short wish was hardly impressive. He hoped to live for another five hundred.
The conversation continued, and Coomara entertained his guest with several songs. Jack could remember little of them afterwards, except for one peculiar chorus that sounded like a collection of nonsense words.
After dinner, Coomara offered to show Jack his collection of curiosities.
He led him into a large room filled with unusual objects he had gathered over the years. But Jack’s attention was drawn to a row of strange containers resembling lobster pots.
He asked what they were used for.
“Those are my soul cages,” Coomara explained.
Jack stared at him in disbelief. What sort of souls could a creature like Coomara possibly be keeping?
The Merrow calmly explained that the cages contained the souls of drowned sailors.
Jack was horrified.
Coomara described how he collected them. Whenever he expected a terrible storm, he placed several of these cages beneath the sea. When ships were wrecked and sailors drowned, their souls escaped from their bodies into the cold water.
Unaccustomed to the freezing conditions, the helpless souls sought shelter wherever they could find it. They entered the cages, allowing Coomara to collect them and bring them home, where he kept them warm and comfortable.
The Merrow appeared to believe that he was doing the poor souls a kindness.
Jack, however, could hardly comprehend what he had heard.
He said nothing, but the discovery troubled him deeply. He had always considered Coomara a friendly and generous companion. Now he knew that his new friend was keeping the souls of drowned sailors imprisoned in cages beneath the ocean.
When the time came to leave, Coomara offered him a parting drink. He then placed the cocked hat on Jack’s head the wrong way and lifted him onto his shoulder.
With a powerful throw, he sent Jack upwards through the water.
Jack shot towards the surface like a rising bubble and landed safely on the same rock where he had first entered the sea. He returned the hat to the water, where it sank, and hurried home as the evening sun cast golden light across the Atlantic.
He said nothing to Biddy about his extraordinary adventure.
But the thought of the imprisoned souls would not leave him alone.
Jack considered telling the priest, but he doubted that the priest could do anything to help. Coomara might also take offence if he discovered that Jack had revealed their friendship. Besides, Jack believed the Merrow was acting without understanding the harm he was causing.
After much thought, he decided to solve the problem himself.
He would invite Coomara to dinner, get him drunk and then steal the cocked hat. With the hat, he could return to the underwater house and release the souls.
There was only one difficulty. He needed to keep Biddy away while he carried out his plan.
Jack suddenly became very religious and suggested that Biddy visit Saint John’s Well near Ennis to pray for the good of their souls. Biddy agreed and set out early one morning, leaving her husband to look after the house.
Once she had gone, Jack hurried to the familiar rock and threw a large stone into the water. This was the signal he had arranged with Coomara.
The Merrow soon appeared.
Jack invited him to dinner, suggesting that one o’clock would be a convenient time. Coomara accepted happily.
Jack returned home and prepared an excellent fish dinner. He also brought out a generous supply of his finest spirits.
Coomara arrived promptly, carrying his cocked hat beneath his arm.
The two friends ate and drank together. Jack repeatedly filled Coomara’s glass, hoping to make him so drunk that he would fall asleep. He encouraged him to sing and kept the drinks coming.
Unfortunately, Jack forgot one important detail. Beneath the ocean, Coomara could drink enormous quantities without becoming intoxicated, but Jack was no longer protected by the cool waters above his head.
The brandy soon overcame him.
Instead of making Coomara drunk, Jack became helplessly intoxicated himself. Coomara eventually left for home, while his host remained unconscious.
Jack did not wake until the following morning.
He was deeply disappointed. His first attempt had failed, and he could not see how he would ever free the unfortunate souls.
Then an idea occurred to him.
Coomara had lived beneath the sea for so long that he probably knew nothing about Irish poteen, the strong traditional spirit distilled in the mountains.
Jack decided that this was the drink that would defeat him.
Fortunately, Biddy was still away, giving Jack enough time to arrange another dinner.
He invited Coomara back.
The Merrow laughed at him for thinking he could ever outdrink him, but he accepted the invitation.
This time, Jack was more careful. He watered his own drinks and reserved the strongest brandy for his guest.
After they had eaten and drunk for a while, Jack mentioned a special drink called poteen.
Coomara had never heard of it.
Jack explained that it was far better than ordinary brandy or rum and that he had received a small quantity from Biddy’s brother. He had been saving it for a special guest.
Coomara was eager to try it.
The poteen proved irresistible. He drank enthusiastically, sang his favourite nonsense chorus again and again, and soon began laughing and dancing around the room.
Before long, he collapsed onto the floor and fell into a deep sleep.
Jack, who had carefully kept himself sober, immediately snatched up the cocked hat.
He rushed to the coast, climbed onto the rock and plunged into the sea.
The hat carried him down to Coomara’s underwater home, where he arrived without encountering another Merrow.
The house was completely quiet.
Jack hurried into the room where the soul cages were kept. He turned each one upside down, releasing whatever was trapped inside.
He could not see the souls, but as each cage was overturned, he heard a faint whistle or chirp.
At first, this puzzled him. Then he remembered what the priests had often taught: the soul could not be seen by living eyes, just as the wind and air could not be seen.
Satisfied that he had freed the prisoners, Jack returned every cage to its original position. He wished the poor souls well and hoped they would find their way wherever they were meant to go.
His work was finished, but another problem awaited him.
Jack put on the cocked hat, correctly for the return journey, and went outside. He soon discovered that the water above him was too high to reach. Without Coomara to throw him towards the surface, he had no idea how to escape.
He searched the underwater surroundings for a ladder or a rock that might help him climb, but found nothing useful.
Eventually, he noticed a place where the water seemed to hang lower than elsewhere.
Just as he approached it, an enormous codfish lowered its tail.
Jack seized his opportunity. He jumped and caught hold of the fish’s tail, startling the creature so badly that it sprang upwards.
The moment the cocked hat touched the water, Jack was whisked upwards like a cork.
Unfortunately, he had forgotten to release the codfish.
The poor creature was dragged upwards behind him, tail first, as Jack shot through the water towards the surface.
He reached the rock safely and hurried home, delighted that he had finally freed the imprisoned souls.
Meanwhile, trouble had been brewing at home.
Biddy had returned from Saint John’s Well shortly after Jack had left on his underwater expedition. When she entered the house, she found the remains of a great drinking session scattered across the table.
She immediately assumed that Jack had invited some troublesome companion into the house while she was away. Worse still, she discovered that the poteen her brother had given them had been consumed.
Then she heard a strange grunt.
Looking beneath the table, she found Coomara lying on the floor, thoroughly intoxicated.
Biddy was horrified. She could hardly believe that her husband had brought such an extraordinary creature into their home and allowed him to drink himself into a stupor.
In distress, she rushed out of the house, lamenting her unfortunate marriage and wondering how she could possibly live with a man who had behaved so disgracefully.
As she hurried away, she suddenly heard a familiar voice singing.
It was Jack.
Biddy was overjoyed to discover that her husband was safe and had not been transformed into some strange creature himself. Jack was then forced to explain everything.
Although she was a little annoyed that he had kept the adventure from her, Biddy eventually understood why he had acted as he did. She agreed that freeing the unfortunate souls had been a good deed.
Together, they returned to the house and woke Coomara.
The old Merrow was in a miserable condition. Jack cheerfully told him not to worry, explaining that many people suffered the same fate after drinking too much. He even recommended another drink as a cure.
Coomara, however, had no desire for more poteen. He got up, looking thoroughly unwell, and left without even offering a proper farewell. He returned to the sea, presumably hoping that the cool water would restore him.
Coomara never discovered what Jack had done.
The two remained friends, and Jack continued visiting the underwater house for several years. Whenever he found an opportunity, he would put on the cocked hat, descend to the Merrow’s home and overturn the soul cages.
He became remarkably successful at freeing the souls of drowned sailors, although he never managed to see them.
Then, one morning, something unusual happened.
Jack went to the familiar rock and threw a stone into the water, expecting Coomara to appear as he always had.
There was no response.
He threw another stone, and then another, but the Merrow did not come.
Jack returned the following morning and tried again. Still, there was no sign of his old companion.
Without the cocked hat, he could not descend beneath the sea to investigate. He could only wonder what had happened to Coomara.
Perhaps the old Merrow had died. Perhaps he had moved away to another part of the ocean.
Jack never discovered the truth.
And so the strange friendship between the fisherman of County Clare and the mysterious inhabitant of the Atlantic came to an end.
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Moral
Compassion sometimes requires more than good intentions. Coomara believes he is helping the drowned sailors, but Jack understands that their freedom matters more than the comfort of their imprisonment. The story teaches that genuine kindness must consider the needs of others rather than simply assuming that we know what is best for them.
Knowledge Check
1. Where did Jack Dogherty live?
Jack lived with his wife, Biddy, along the rocky coast of County Clare, Ireland.
2. What was a Merrow?
A Merrow was a supernatural sea creature resembling a human being in some respects. Coomara was the Merrow Jack befriended.
3. What were Coomara’s soul cages?
They were containers resembling lobster pots in which Coomara kept the souls of drowned sailors.
4. How did Jack finally manage to make Coomara fall asleep?
He gave Coomara poteen, a strong traditional Irish spirit that the Merrow had never tasted.
5. How did Jack escape from beneath the sea after freeing the souls?
He caught hold of a codfish’s tail, and the fish’s sudden upward movement carried him towards the surface.
6. Why did Jack continue visiting Coomara’s underwater home?
He wanted to release the imprisoned souls of drowned sailors without Coomara discovering what he was doing.
7. What happens at the end of the story?
Coomara eventually stops responding to Jack’s signals. Jack never discovers whether his friend has died or moved elsewhere.
Source
Adapted from T. Crofton Croker’s Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, in the tale “The Soul Cages,” pp. 62–75, based on the supplied text.
