Dublin in Irish legend

Each story keeps the passage it was read from. Open one to read the passage as the book has it, and, where the companion has written its own telling, that too.

1. Sack of Da Derga's Court and death of King Conary

   Bohernabreena · townland · Dublin

   Outlawed pirate princes attacked the Court of Da Derga, where King Conary Mor had taken shelter; after a brave but unavailing resistance the Court was sacked and plundered, and Conary and nearly all his followers were put to the sword.

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   the four sons of Don Dessa, a powerful prince of Leinster. The outlawed nobles took to piracy, and after some wanderings on the sea, returned to Ireland at the head of a predatory expedition. They landed at Malahide and marched towards Tara, laying waste the country through which they passed. Conary was returning from a visit to Munster, and had proceeded as far as Lusk, when finding the plain of Meath wrapped in flames, he turned back and made his way by Tallaght to the Court of Da Derga. Here he was hospitably received and sheltered by his friend Da Derga, but the Court was attacked by the pirates, and after a brave but unavailing resistance it was sacked and plundered. Conary Mor and his small band of followers were put to the sword. They fought bravely but were defeated by reason of the superior number of the marauders, and also by the wiles and enchantments which their enemies called to their aid. King Conary and nearly all of those who were with him in the house were slain.

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

2. Tristan's wounding and healing at Dublin

   Dublin · city · Dublin

   Tristan, wounded by a poisoned sword in his duel with Morolt, sailed to Dublin to be healed by Queen Iseult, the only person who could cure him. He was found drifting in a rudderless boat, brought into the harbour, and nursed back to health at the Queen's house in Dublin.

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   voyage to Dublin. "Then Tristan sailed night and day till they drew near the shores of Ireland, and when the land was well in sight he bade the captain steer for Dublin, for there he knew the Queen had her dwelling. And when they were near enough to see it well, the captain spake : ' Master, I see the city, what dost thou counsel.' ' Tristan bade them to row nearer to the city when the evening came, to place him in a little boat with his harp and some food, and then to leave him. They left him alone as he bade, " floating hither and thither till the morning light ; and when the day broke and the men of Dublin saw the rudderless boat tossing on the waves they bade men put out from the haven and see what it might be." When they drew near the music of Tristan's harp reached their ears, and the sweetest singing they had ever heard. The minstrel was found lying ill at the bottom of the boat, for, " sweet as xhe song was, Tristan's heart was not in it, but he sang as a martyr, out of his sorrow and sufferings." They towed him into the harbour and made the boat fast, and said : " Sir Minstrel, look well on this castle and fair town beside it, dost know what town it is?" "Nay, sirs, ) know not what it may be," replied Tristan. " So will we tell thee; thou art at Dublin in Ireland." " Then praises be to God, who hath brought me to a kindly folk, for surely there will be some among ye who will help me in my need." The tale of the coming of the minstrel, of his deadly wound, and his sweet singing, was spread abroad all through the city. Amongst those who visited him was a priest of the Queen's household, who told her that there was a, minstrel in the town sorely wounded, and dead, even while he lived, yet that never man born of woman might equal his skill, in music, or his courage. The Queen told her chamberlain to have him carried to her, and Tristan, iwho gave his name as Tantris, was borne to the Queen's house. " He had heard aforetime of the beauty and wisdom of Queen Iseult, for the fame of her had spread into all countries, and men spake of her as ' Iseult the fair, Iseult the wise, bright as the dawn in eastern skies.' ' The Queen tended him day and night, and within twenty days the poison had gone

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Dublin, you are travelling the waters where Tristan once drifted, wounded by Morolt's poisoned sword, seeking the only healer who could save him. He sailed from abroad toward Ireland, and when the city was in sight he had himself set in a little boat with his harp and some food, then left alone, floating through the night. When morning came the men of Dublin saw the rudderless boat tossing on the waves and rowed out to investigate. They heard music before they saw the man, the sweetest singing they had ever known, though Tristan's heart was not in it. He sang, as the old book says, "as a martyr, out of his sorrow and sufferings." They towed him into the harbour and told him he was at Dublin in Ireland, and he gave thanks to God for bringing him to a kindly folk. Word of the wounded minstrel spread through the city. A priest of the Queen's household told Queen Iseult that a man lay in the town sorely wounded, dead even while he lived, yet unmatched in music and courage. She sent her chamberlain to have him carried to her house. Tristan gave his name as Tantris. The Queen tended him day and night, and within 20 days the poison had gone.

3. Diarmid and Grania hide from Finn in a cave at Ben Edar

   Howth · townland · Dublin

   The fleeing lovers Diarmid and Grania took refuge in a cave at Ben Edar (Howth) while pursued by Finn, aided by an old woman who was ultimately false to their trust and betrayed their hiding place.

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   In their wanderings through various parts of Ireland before their departure to Alba, we find Deirdre and the sons of Usnach remaining for a time at Ben Edar. There, too, another pair of lovers, famed in Irish story, Diarmid and Grania, took refuge when pursued by Finn, and stayed hidden in a cave, befriended by an old woman who helped them to keep watch. Finn met the old woman one day and questioned her, and she was false to her trust and told him where Diarmid and Grania lay concealed. Finn bade her to detain them in the cave until such time as he could return with the Fianna. A false statement that the old woman made on her return led Grania to suspect her, and she advised Diarmid to escape. The lovers found a boat at shelter in the harbour close by and went into it. There was a man in the boat with beautiful clothes and an embroidered golden yellow cloak over his shoulders. They knew it was Angus Oge, the God of Love, who had come to help them to escape, and they went with him to his home at Brugh-na-Bouine.

   Ben Edar. is frequently mentioned in the Ossianic poems as a favourite hunting place of Finn and his companions. In the Colloquy of the Ancients, the oldest collection of Irish stories, it is referred to as the place where Finn mustered his battalions, and also as the regular port of entry and departure for central Ireland. It was there that the King of Thessaly's son landed to run a wager for the tribute of all Ireland, and it was there also that the Tuatha De Danaan undertook to have

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

4. Dubh drowned and gives Dublin its name (Dubh-Linn)

   Wood Quay · street · Dublin

   According to an old legend in the Dinnseanchas, Dubh the druidess drowned her husband's secret wife Aete with a charm-summoned tide; in revenge, a servant named Margenn killed Dubh with a sling stone, and she fell into a pool of the Liffey thereafter called Dubh-Linn, giving Dublin its name.

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   by which we now know it is said to have been derived from Dubh-Ldnn, a dark pool on the Liffey ; but an old legend in the Dinnseanchas gives another derivation. Dubh, it tells us, was the wife of Enna. Enna had secretly another wife called Aete. Dubh, who was a druidess, discovered this fact, and caused the tide to overwhelm Aete's house by means of a charm, and to drown Aete. Margenn, a servant of Aete, who discovered the cause of her death, shot Dubh by means of a sling stone, and she fell into a pool in the Liffey, which was hence called Dubh-Linn. A ford on the Liffey was anciently known as Ath-liag-Mairgene, or the " Ford of Margenn's Sling Stone " from this incident, and it is said to have been situated in the neighbourhood of the present Wood Quay.

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

   As the companion tells it

   Along here at Wood Quay, an old legend in the Dinnseanchas says a pool in the Liffey gave Dublin its name. Dubh was the wife of Enna, and a druidess. She discovered that Enna had secretly another wife called Aete, and by means of a charm she caused the tide to overwhelm Aete's house and drown her. Margenn, a servant of Aete, discovered the cause of her death and shot Dubh with a sling stone. She fell into a pool in the Liffey, which was hence called Dubh-Linn, the dark pool. A ford on the Liffey was anciently known as Ath-liag-Mairgene, the Ford of Margenn's Sling Stone, from this incident, and it is said to have been situated in the neighbourhood of the present Wood Quay.

5. The Battle of Gavra at Garristown exterminates the Fianna

   Garristown · townland · Dublin

   A tremendous battle took place at Garristown between King Cairbre's forces and the Fianna over a disputed tribute, resulting in such slaughter on both sides that none but old men and young boys were left in Ireland, and the Fianna were defeated and exterminated.

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   begun to use their organisation for oppressive purposes. Cairbre resolved to take up arms against them. He refused the tribute and summoned all the provincial kings to help him. The old feud between the Clann Morna and the Clann Baoisgne broke out afresh, and the Clann Morna and the King of Munster came to the assistance of Cairbre. The battle took place at Garristown, and .there was such tremendous slaughter on both sides that none but old men and young boys were left in Ireland after the fight. The Fianna were defeated and exterminated. Besides the traditions that have come down to us of the heroic figures that inhabited the neighbourhood of Dublin at the earliest period of our national history we have other evidences of their existence in the monuments of various kinds that are scattered throughout the county. There are fine cromlechs at Howth, Kilternan, Shanganagh, Hollypark, Mount Venus, Shankill and Glendruid. Mr. Borlase in his work on the Dolmens of Ireland mentions the cromlech on Mount Venus as one of the most magnificent of the megalithic monuments in Europe. Some idea of its size may be gained from the fact that the weight of the covering stone is estimated at forty-two tons. On Dalkey Island there is an ancient dun which, the Four Masters state, was erected by Sedgha, one of the leaders of the Milesian colony. A tumulus similar in character to those at Howth and Newgrange was discovered at Lusk in 1889. Underneath a large barrow there is a sepulchral chamber about eight feet long and six feet wide approached by a stone -constructed passage. During the progress of certain works in the Phoenix Park four stone cists were discovered on a hill in the neighbourhood of the Royal Hibernian Military School, each containing an urn of baked clay in which there were calcined bones and ashes. Two skeletons were also found in a channber there, and from the form of their skulls Sir William Wilde was of opinion that they belonged to persons of the Firbolgian race. Many of the mountains that lie southward of the city have on their summit the cairn of a dead king or chieftain. These " chronicles of clay and stone," the cairn, the dun, the rath, speak as

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

6. Aideen's grave under the cromlech at Howth

   Howth · townland · Dublin

   Aideen, daughter of Angus of Ben Edar, died of grief after her husband Oscar was slain at the Battle of Gavra. She was buried at Howth, and tradition holds that the Fenian heroes attended her burial and raised a cromlech over her grave.

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   " They heaved the stone, they heaped the cairn.

   Said Oisin, ' In a queenly grave We leave 'her, 'mong the fields of fern, Between the cliff and wave.'

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

7. Battle of Cnucha at Castleknock kills Finn's father

   Castleknock · street · Dublin

   A battle was fought at Cnucha (Castleknock) between the rival clans Clanna Morna and Clanna Baoisgne, in which Goll MacMorna killed Finn's father Cumhal, scattering the Clanna Baoisgne.

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   Castleknock, or as it was then known " Cnucha," is also often referred to in the stories of the Fenian cycle. This cycle, it should be remarked, begins before the birth of Finn with the story of the struggle of two rival clans, each of which claimed to be the real and only Fianna Eirean. They were the Clanna Morna, under the leadership of Goll MacMorna, and the Clanna Baoisgne, commanded by Finn's father, Cumhal. A battle was fought between the two clans at Cnucha, in which Goll killed Cumhal and the Clanna Baoisgne was defeated and scattered. The battle was caused by the abduction of Muirni Muincaem by Cumhal, and his refusal to send her back or to pay any restitution to her father, or to the king for the violation of the law. After the battle Cumhal's wife bore a posthumous son, and he was brought up amongst the Slieve Bloom mountains in great secrecy lest his father's enemies should find him out and kill him. The posthumous son of Cumhal is the Finn MacCumhal famed in Irish story.

   One of the favourite amusements of the Fianna when not employed in war was hunting, and during the long excursions that they made in pursuit of game, they had certain hills which were favourite resting-places in the intervals of the chase. These hills are called Suidhe-Finn (Seefin), Finn's seat, or resting-place, and they are found in each of the four provinces. The name appears to have originally been given to the cairn on the summit of the hill, and to have been applied afterwards to the hill itself. One of the hills overlooking the beautiful valley of Glennasmole, that lies between the Dublin mountains, was, as its name still indicates, one of these

   Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

8. Aithirne's curse blights Leinster from Howth

   Howth · townland · Dublin

   The satirist-poet Aithirne, besieged with Ulster forces on the Hill of Howth, cursed the land of Leinster from its summit, causing a year-long blight in which neither corn, grass nor foliage would grow.

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   by a refusal, of fixing a quarrel. In Leinster, at King Mesgedra's Court in Naas, Aithirne demanded the gift of seven hundred white cows with red ears, and one hundred and fifty of the wives and daughters of the Leinster nobles to be carried into bondage in Ulster. This unreasonable petition was also granted, but the poet became suspicious of the intentions of Mesgedra, and sent to Conor for an escort of Ultonians, who were to meet him at the boundary of the two kingdoms, and repel any attempt at forced restitution of the booty which lie suspected that the men of Leinster would make, when he had left their kingdom, and they would 'be free to attack him without infringing the laws of hospitality. At the ford of the Liffey, a causeway of hurdles was thrown across the river for the transport of his flocks. It was here, for the Liffey was at that time the boundary between the kingdoms of Leinster and Ulster, that, as Aithirne had anticipated, his late hosts, the instant he had passed out of the country, seized upon the women and cattle. A battle ensued, in which the Ultonians succeeded in forcing their retreat to the Hill of Howth, and carrying the cattle with them. From the summit of Howth the poet cursed the land he had left, and a blight fell on all things in Leinster. He continued, says a tract in the Book of Ballymote, for a full year to satirise the Leinstermen, and bring fatalities on them, so that neither corn, grass nor foliage grew for them that year. While Aithirne and the chieftains of Ulster were encamped on Howth many of the famed heroes of the North came to assist them, and various onslaughts - were made on the men of Leinster.

   The fighting went on day and night round the fort of Ben Edar. The manuscript states that the two lines of battle were joined from tierce to none. The Leinstermen were finally routed so that they raised a red wall of slain against the Ulstermen, for it was prohibited to the Ultonians to pass over a red wall. A great many of the northern warriors perished in the fight.

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9. Skeletons and spear heads found near Donnybrook

   Donnybrook · parish · Dublin

   Ferguson identified a mound near the Dodder, close to Donnybrook Catholic Church, as the site of Da Derga's Hostel; a discovery of antique spear heads and several skeletons, mostly decapitated and showing marks of violent death, was made there during building works.

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   The story is splendidly told in Sir Samuel Ferguson's fine poem "Conary," a poem in which, as Mr. Aubrey de Vere notes, the modern poet " has caught thoroughly the epic character so remarkable in those Bardic legends which were transmitted orally through ages when Homer must have been a name unknown in Ireland." The exact site of E)a Derga 's Hostel is doubtful. The great road from Tara to Cualann, near which it was situated, ran through the Tallaght hills, and it is maintained by some authorities that the Court was at Bohernabreena. In a note to " Conary " Ferguson says that the Court would appear to have been situated on the Dodder, and at the part of the stream where it was crossed by the high road through Dublin to the district anciently known as Cualann. Two highways led in this direction, one by the sea road and one by Booterstown . Both converged into one main road near Booterstown. Ferguson fixes on a mound near the Dodder, a little to the right of Donnybrook Catholic Church, as the site of the Court. A discovery of some spear heads of an antique pattern, and of a number of skeletons, most of them decapitated and bearing marks of a violent death, that was made here during Ferguson's

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   As the companion tells it

   You're passing through Donnybrook now. Ferguson, in a note to his poem "Conary," fixed on a mound near the Dodder, close to Donnybrook Catholic Church, as the site of Da Derga's Hostel. The exact site is doubtful. The great road from Tara to Cualann, near which the hostel was situated, ran through the Tallaght hills, and some authorities maintain the Court was at Bohernabreena. Ferguson placed it on the Dodder, at the part of the stream crossed by the high road through Dublin to the district anciently known as Cualann. Two highways led in that direction, one by the sea road and one by Booterstown, both converging into one main road near Booterstown. A discovery was made there of spear heads of an antique pattern and a number of skeletons, most of them decapitated and bearing marks of a violent death. Ferguson's poem caught the epic character of the Bardic legends, as Aubrey de Vere noted, legends transmitted orally through ages when Homer was a name unknown in Ireland.

10. Izod's Tower and Chapelizod named for Iseult

    near Chapelizod · townland · Dublin

    A tower in the old city wall of Dublin, known as Izod's Tower, and the village of Chapelizod on the Liffey were said to preserve the memory of the fair princess Iseult of the Tristan legend.

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    A tower that stood in the old city wall of Dublin, and which was known as Izod's Tower, preserved a memory of the fair princess, and Chapel-izod, on the L-iffey, is said to be named after her. Professor Zimmer regards Tristan and his uncle as ninth century Pictish chieftains, and Iseult as the daughter of the Viking King of Dublin. Gottfried, and the other writers of his day, who only knew the story from a French source, give the name of the hero a French derivation. The more probable derivation is from the Pictish Drostan or Drustan.

    The stories of Etain and Isolda are fixed at a point 'of time that was late in the legendary history of Ireland. Centuries before either of these two fair princesses walked the plains of upper earth, the neighbourhood of the present City of Dublin had been the scene of historic happenings. Even at the time when the Heroic Period of Irish History begins, and when Dana, Angus Oge, Mananaan MacLjr and Morrigu, the gods of the race of the De Danaans, occupied the chief places in popular worship, there was a tradition amongst men that the people of the goddess Dana were not the first inhabitants of Ireland. The Celtic mythology resembles the Grecian • in representing an old dim realm of gods as standing behind the existing Pantheon. In Greece it was Chronos and the Titans who had been dispossessed \>y Zeus, and in Ireland there were legends of an older race of colonists, the race of Partholan, who had preceded the De Danaans. They warred against the Fomorians, the original inhabitants of Ireland, and their gods, Balor Bress and Elathan, the malign powers of darkness, evil and death. The record of the existence of these autochthones of the country is the bone cave and the drift bank, where we still find their knives and hatchets of stone, with the fossil remains of the giant elk and the cave bear.

    Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here, the old village of Chapelizod sits on the Liffey, and its name is said to preserve the memory of the fair princess Iseult. A tower once stood in the old city wall of Dublin, known as Izod's Tower, and it too was held to keep that memory alive. Professor Zimmer regarded Tristan and his uncle as ninth century Pictish chieftains, and Iseult as the daughter of the Viking King of Dublin. Gottfried and the other writers of his day, who only knew the story from a French source, gave the hero's name a French derivation. The more probable derivation is from the Pictish Drostan or Drustan. The stories of Etain and Isolda are fixed late in the legendary history of Ireland. Centuries before either of these two fair princesses walked the plains of upper earth, the neighbourhood of the present City of Dublin had been the scene of historic happenings. Even when the Heroic Period of Irish History begins, and Dana, Angus Oge, Mananaan MacLir and Morrigu, the gods of the race of the De Danaans, occupied the chief places in popular worship, there was a tradition among men that the people of the goddess Dana were not the first inhabitants of Ireland. The Celtic mythology resembles the Grecian in representing an old dim realm of gods standing behind the existing Pantheon. In Greece it was Chronos and the Titans who had been dispossessed by Zeus, and in Ireland there were legends of an older race of colonists, the race of Partholan, who had preceded the De Danaans. They warred against the Fomorians, the original inhabitants of Ireland, and their gods, Balor, Bress and Elathan, the malign powers of darkness, evil and death. The record of these autochthones is the bone cave and the drift bank, where we still find their knives and hatchets of stone, with the fossil remains of the giant elk and the cave bear.

11. Tumuli and cairns of the Tallaght hills

    near Tallaght · town · Dublin

    Scattered among the Tallaght hills are many tumuli, cairns, stone cists and other forms of graves, confirming the tradition that this area was once the necropolis of an entire ancient tribe destroyed by plague.

    Read the passage

    fact that there remains to this day scattered among the Tallaght hills many tumuli, cairns, stone cists, and other forms of graves, indicating that they once formed the necropolis of a whole tribe.

    The confirmation, or partial confirmation, of this old tradition of the sepulture of one of the earliest races who inhabited Ireland opens up an interesting question as to the amount of actual history that may be enshrined in our ancient legends. The legends, themselves, are of the very greatest antiquity and are narrated in the oldest Irish manuscripts existing, which were copied from still more ancient books. The old chroniclers are at much pains to set down with extreme precision the dates of the several events, and they often go to the length of telling us the month, day, or week in which they happened. Their chronology is, it is true, quite factitious, and was the invention of writers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries ; but the legends with which they deal were handed down to them from a much earlier period. The most important of the legends may be ascribed to a period that was many centuries before the written records that we now possess were committed to manuscripts.

    Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

12. Glennasmole described as 'a place full of witchcraft'

    near Glenasmole · population centre · Dublin

    Many Ossianic poems refer to Glennasmole, with one describing it directly as a place full of witchcraft; local tradition of the heroic figures associated with the glen survived among Irish-speaking people there until the mid-19th century.

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    Many others of the Ossianic poems refer to Glennasmole. In one of them it is described as " a place full of iwitchcraft." The tradition of the heroic figures who lived there survived until the middle of the last century amongst the Irish-speaking people of the glen. A huge granite boulder in the grounds of a lodge at the head of the glen was known as Finn MacCumhal's stone, and there was a tradition that he had borne it here from one of the mountains opposite. Miss Mary Furlong, in her beautiful little poem, " Glennasmole," surmises that the

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13. Conall Carnach slays Mesgedra at the Ford of Clane

    Clane · town · Kildare

    In reprisal for the deaths of his brothers during the Siege of Howth, the Ulster champion Conall Carnach slew King Mesgedra of Leinster at the Ford of Clane on the Liffey.

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    Amongst the Northern champions was Conall Carnach, whose brothers were slain during the siege, and who in reprisal slew Mesgedra at the Ford of Clane on the

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14. Firbolgian skeletons found in stone cists in Phoenix Park

    Phoenix Park · electoral division · Dublin

    During works in the Phoenix Park near the Royal Hibernian Military School, four stone cists were discovered, each containing an urn of baked clay with calcined bones and ashes; two skeletons found there were judged by Sir William Wilde, from their skull form, to belong to persons of the Firbolgian race.

    Read the passage

    begun to use their organisation for oppressive purposes. Cairbre resolved to take up arms against them. He refused the tribute and summoned all the provincial kings to help him. The old feud between the Clann Morna and the Clann Baoisgne broke out afresh, and the Clann Morna and the King of Munster came to the assistance of Cairbre. The battle took place at Garristown, and .there was such tremendous slaughter on both sides that none but old men and young boys were left in Ireland after the fight. The Fianna were defeated and exterminated. Besides the traditions that have come down to us of the heroic figures that inhabited the neighbourhood of Dublin at the earliest period of our national history we have other evidences of their existence in the monuments of various kinds that are scattered throughout the county. There are fine cromlechs at Howth, Kilternan, Shanganagh, Hollypark, Mount Venus, Shankill and Glendruid. Mr. Borlase in his work on the Dolmens of Ireland mentions the cromlech on Mount Venus as one of the most magnificent of the megalithic monuments in Europe. Some idea of its size may be gained from the fact that the weight of the covering stone is estimated at forty-two tons. On Dalkey Island there is an ancient dun which, the Four Masters state, was erected by Sedgha, one of the leaders of the Milesian colony. A tumulus similar in character to those at Howth and Newgrange was discovered at Lusk in 1889. Underneath a large barrow there is a sepulchral chamber about eight feet long and six feet wide approached by a stone -constructed passage. During the progress of certain works in the Phoenix Park four stone cists were discovered on a hill in the neighbourhood of the Royal Hibernian Military School, each containing an urn of baked clay in which there were calcined bones and ashes. Two skeletons were also found in a channber there, and from the form of their skulls Sir William Wilde was of opinion that they belonged to persons of the Firbolgian race. Many of the mountains that lie southward of the city have on their summit the cairn of a dead king or chieftain. These " chronicles of clay and stone," the cairn, the dun, the rath, speak as

    Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

    As the companion tells it

    Coming through Phoenix Park now, the ground beneath this place holds evidence of people who lived here at the earliest period of national history. During certain works in the park, 4 stone cists were discovered on a hill in the neighbourhood of the Royal Hibernian Military School. Each one held an urn of baked clay, and inside each urn were calcined bones and ashes. Two skeletons were also found in a chamber there. Sir William Wilde examined them, and from the form of their skulls he was of the opinion that they belonged to persons of the Firbolgian race. These finds are part of a wider pattern of ancient monuments scattered throughout the county. There are fine cromlechs at Howth, Kilternan, Shanganagh, Hollypark, Mount Venus, Shankill and Glendruid. Borlase, in his work on the dolmens of Ireland, mentions the cromlech on Mount Venus as one of the most magnificent megalithic monuments in Europe. The weight of its covering stone alone is estimated at 42 tons. On Dalkey Island there is an ancient dun which the Four Masters state was erected by Sedgha, one of the leaders of the Milesian colony. A tumulus similar to those at Howth and Newgrange was discovered at Lusk in 1889. Underneath a large barrow there is a sepulchral chamber about 8 feet long and 6 feet wide, approached by a stone-constructed passage. Many of the mountains south of the city have on their summit the cairn of a dead king or chieftain. These, in the source's words,

15. Tumulus and sepulchral chamber discovered at Lusk in 1889

    Lusk · town · Dublin · 1889

    A tumulus similar to those at Howth and Newgrange was discovered at Lusk in 1889, containing a sepulchral chamber about eight feet long and six feet wide, approached by a stone-constructed passage.

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    begun to use their organisation for oppressive purposes. Cairbre resolved to take up arms against them. He refused the tribute and summoned all the provincial kings to help him. The old feud between the Clann Morna and the Clann Baoisgne broke out afresh, and the Clann Morna and the King of Munster came to the assistance of Cairbre. The battle took place at Garristown, and .there was such tremendous slaughter on both sides that none but old men and young boys were left in Ireland after the fight. The Fianna were defeated and exterminated. Besides the traditions that have come down to us of the heroic figures that inhabited the neighbourhood of Dublin at the earliest period of our national history we have other evidences of their existence in the monuments of various kinds that are scattered throughout the county. There are fine cromlechs at Howth, Kilternan, Shanganagh, Hollypark, Mount Venus, Shankill and Glendruid. Mr. Borlase in his work on the Dolmens of Ireland mentions the cromlech on Mount Venus as one of the most magnificent of the megalithic monuments in Europe. Some idea of its size may be gained from the fact that the weight of the covering stone is estimated at forty-two tons. On Dalkey Island there is an ancient dun which, the Four Masters state, was erected by Sedgha, one of the leaders of the Milesian colony. A tumulus similar in character to those at Howth and Newgrange was discovered at Lusk in 1889. Underneath a large barrow there is a sepulchral chamber about eight feet long and six feet wide approached by a stone -constructed passage. During the progress of certain works in the Phoenix Park four stone cists were discovered on a hill in the neighbourhood of the Royal Hibernian Military School, each containing an urn of baked clay in which there were calcined bones and ashes. Two skeletons were also found in a channber there, and from the form of their skulls Sir William Wilde was of opinion that they belonged to persons of the Firbolgian race. Many of the mountains that lie southward of the city have on their summit the cairn of a dead king or chieftain. These " chronicles of clay and stone," the cairn, the dun, the rath, speak as

    Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2

16. Ancient dun on Dalkey Island attributed to Milesian leader

    Dalkey Island · townland · Dublin

    On Dalkey Island there is an ancient dun which, according to the Four Masters, was erected by Sedgha, one of the leaders of the Milesian colony.

    Read the passage

    begun to use their organisation for oppressive purposes. Cairbre resolved to take up arms against them. He refused the tribute and summoned all the provincial kings to help him. The old feud between the Clann Morna and the Clann Baoisgne broke out afresh, and the Clann Morna and the King of Munster came to the assistance of Cairbre. The battle took place at Garristown, and .there was such tremendous slaughter on both sides that none but old men and young boys were left in Ireland after the fight. The Fianna were defeated and exterminated. Besides the traditions that have come down to us of the heroic figures that inhabited the neighbourhood of Dublin at the earliest period of our national history we have other evidences of their existence in the monuments of various kinds that are scattered throughout the county. There are fine cromlechs at Howth, Kilternan, Shanganagh, Hollypark, Mount Venus, Shankill and Glendruid. Mr. Borlase in his work on the Dolmens of Ireland mentions the cromlech on Mount Venus as one of the most magnificent of the megalithic monuments in Europe. Some idea of its size may be gained from the fact that the weight of the covering stone is estimated at forty-two tons. On Dalkey Island there is an ancient dun which, the Four Masters state, was erected by Sedgha, one of the leaders of the Milesian colony. A tumulus similar in character to those at Howth and Newgrange was discovered at Lusk in 1889. Underneath a large barrow there is a sepulchral chamber about eight feet long and six feet wide approached by a stone -constructed passage. During the progress of certain works in the Phoenix Park four stone cists were discovered on a hill in the neighbourhood of the Royal Hibernian Military School, each containing an urn of baked clay in which there were calcined bones and ashes. Two skeletons were also found in a channber there, and from the form of their skulls Sir William Wilde was of opinion that they belonged to persons of the Firbolgian race. Many of the mountains that lie southward of the city have on their summit the cairn of a dead king or chieftain. These " chronicles of clay and stone," the cairn, the dun, the rath, speak as

    Internet Archive dublininirishleg00flooiala, Chapter 2