mr. ibis told them of mad sweeney 's love affairs , his enmities , the madness that gave him his power ( `` a later version of the tale is still told , although the sacred nature , and the antiquity , of much of the verse has long been forgotten '' ) , the worship and adoration in his own land that slowly transmuted into a guarded respect and then , finally into amusement ; he told them the story of the girl from bantry who came to the new world , and who brought her belief in mad sweeney the leprechaun with her , for had n't she seen him of a night , down by the pool , and had n't he smiled at her and called her by her own true name ?