Caillagh ny Groamagh, or the 'Old Woman of Gloominess'. This is the Manx version of the Highland Cailleach Bheur and the Irish Cailleach Bera (Cally Berry in Ulster). The Manx Caillagh, as Gill tells us in A Manx Scrapbook (pp.347-349), seems to be particularly unlucky, for she fell into the crevice called after her in trying to step from the top of Barrule to the top of Cronk yn Irree Lhaa. The mark of her heel is still to be seen.

The Manx Caillagh, like all the rest, is a weather spirit. In Scotland winter and bad weather belong to her, but in Man she seems to operate all through the year. If St Bride's Day (1 February) is fine, she comes out to gather sticks to warm her through the summer; if it is wet, she stays in, and has to make the rest of the year fine in her own interests. A fine St Bride's Day is therefore a bad omen for the rest of the year.

She is said to have been seen on St Bride's Day in the form of a gigantic bird, carrying sticks in her beak. Cronk yn Irree Lhaa is supposed to be the usual home of the 'Old Woman of Gloominess'.

[Motif: A1135]