There is very little of this old house left in Crockban, but it was once the home of Biddy McMullan. She was called Biddy the Pensioner because it was believed that she was married to a former policeman who had a pension, something very few people in Sixtowns had in those days.
In 1901, Biddy was 70 and she had three daughters, MaryJane29, Alice 19 and Susan16 all of whom were listed as seamstresses. Some years ago a man and a woman from Vancouver and New Zealand came here to search for their roots.
There is a story told about Biddy who was known as one who “would not take prisoners” when dealing with trouble. A stray ram was creating havoc with her crops and Biddy wanted rid of it. An old neighbour was coming down the road to Mass when Biddy challenged him as to whether the ram was his, he knew that it was, but decided to play dumb and went over to examine the brand on its horn. “Oh”, says he, “That`s Pat Duffy`s ram for sure.” The Neighbour then headed on for mass but when he was coming back again he discovered his prize ram, lying dead on the road, with a grape stuck in him. He ran to Biddy`s house protesting angrily about her killing his ram. Biddy calmly replied, “No, no, that`s not your ram, that`s Pat Duffy`s. Sure you said it yourself”.
When Biddy died, her girls emigrated and the place was bought by Peter Molloy. It then passed on to the McKeowns and then to John Bradley (Hollow).