hand of the town’s “bad girl,” who had come to threaten one of her best friends. She locked up the café alone at any hour, as it never closed so long as there was even one customer left inside, and took the cashbox across the road unprotected. In all those years, no one ever bothered her.

She was audacious. A famous Sligo story goes: Topsy once chased down a patrolman who was going way too fast, passed him, and roared on. He immediately put on his light, overtook her again and pulled her over. “Madam, do you realize how fast you were going?” “No sir.” “Didn’t you bother to look at your speedometer?” “No sir.” “Why not?” “Well, sir, I figured that I was following an officer of the law, who would never go faster than the speed limit.” He was laughing too hard to give her a ticket.