Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland

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. Galway's Spanish Trade and Population Collapse

   Galway · city · Galway · 1845–1891

   Galway was once a wealthy trading port receiving Spanish wine in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, leaving a supposed Spanish influence on local features. Its population catastrophically declined from nearly 35,000 in 1845 to only 14,000 by 1891, leaving ruined cottage streets in its outskirts.

   Read the passage

   Galway is one of the most modern of the Irish provincial capitals. It does not figure at all in ancient annals. The first mention of it in the annals of the Four Masters is under the year 1124, when it is stated that the men of Connacht erected a castle in Galway. The first mention of it in the annals of Loch Key is under the year 1191, when it is stated that the river Gaillimh, from which the town takes its name, was dried up. The cause of this phenomenon is not stated. Galway was at one time a place of considerable wealth and trade. It was, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the port to which most of the Spanish wine destined for Ireland used to come; and it is generally believed that a Spanish type of features can still be noticed on some of its inhabitants. But whatever mercantile prosperity Galway enjoyed some centuries ago, very little of it unfortunately remains; for of all Irish towns the decrease of its population has been the most terrible. In 1845 it contained very close on 35,000 inhabitants, in 1891 it had only 14,000! It is painful to walk in the outskirts of the town and pass through whole streets in which nothing remains save the ruins of cottages. Galway ought to be a prosperous place, for it is situated on a noble bay that forms a spacious harbour, sheltered from the fury of the Atlantic by the Isles of Arran. It is pleasant to be able to state that the condition of this once fine city is improving.

   [Illustration: OLD HOUSES IN GALWAY.]

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 25

   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Galway, you are in one of the most modern of the Irish provincial capitals. It does not figure much in ancient records. The annals of the Four Masters first mention it in 1124, when the men of Connacht erected a castle here, and the annals of Loch Key note in 1191 that the river Gaillimh, which gave the town its name, dried up for reasons not stated. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Galway was a place of considerable wealth and trade. Most of the Spanish wine destined for Ireland came through this port, and it is generally believed that a Spanish type of features can still be noticed on some of its inhabitants. But very little of that mercantile prosperity remains. Of all Irish towns, the decrease of Galway's population has been the most terrible. In 1845 it contained close on 35,000 inhabitants. By 1891 it had only 14,000. It is painful to walk in the outskirts and pass through whole streets where nothing remains save the ruins of cottages. Galway ought to be prosperous, situated on a noble bay that forms a spacious harbour sheltered from the Atlantic by the Isles of Arran. The condition of this once fine city is said to be improving.

2. Glendaloch called 'the Rome of the western world' by Oengus the Culdee

   Glendalough · electoral division · Wicklow · 700–900

   Oengus the Culdee described Glendaloch as 'multitudinous Glendaloch' and 'the Rome of the western world', suggesting it held a large population in the eighth and ninth centuries as a wealthy monastic city before Viking raids began.

   Read the passage

   "Emain's burgh hath vanished Save that its stones remain; The Rome of the western world Is multitudinous Glendaloch."

   There is no doubt that the ruins of Emania were in a much better state of preservation when Oengus wrote, nearly eleven hundred years ago, than they are in at present, and it is certain that many of its stones have been carried away to build walls and houses. But it is also quite certain that neither in Ireland, Great Britain, or in any northern country, were stone buildings general in ancient times, and we may be sure that when Emania was at the height of its splendour its best and largest buildings were of wood.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 4

3. Glendaloch's gloomy grandeur and legendary halo

   Glendalough · electoral division · Wicklow

   Glendaloch, in the centre of County Wicklow, is described as a strange, gloomy but grand glen, ideal for the contemplation of an anchorite like St Kevin. It served as a central point for excursions to nearby beauty spots such as Glen Molur and the Meeting of the Waters.

   Read the passage

   There are not many places in Ireland more interesting than this strange and weird glen. It can hardly be called beautiful. It is gloomy and grand; and there is something depressing about it even in the finest day in autumn when the sombre mountains by which it is surrounded on all sides but one are mantled in their most gorgeous crimson drapery of full-blooming heather. It is just such a spot as an anchorite like St Kevin would choose as a place for contemplation and prayer.

   Glendaloch--it ought _not_ to be spelled _Glendalough_--is very nearly in the centre of the romantic county of Wicklow. It is a good central point from which to make excursions to the many beautiful and interesting places in its vicinity, such as Glen Molur, the Glen of Imail, the Meeting of the Waters, and the Mountain of Lugnacuilla, the highest in Leinster. The interior of the County Wicklow may be said to be a vast wilderness of mountains, bogs, and glens. But its mountains have, with one exception, the defect of being round-topped. They lack the boldness of the hills of Connemara and Donegal. The mountain that is the most bold and alpine in the county, and that forms an exception to the general contour of its hills, is the famous one called the "Sugar-loaf," near Bray. The Dublin grocer, or whoever he was that gave this beautiful hill such an abominable name, should have his memory held in everlasting contempt. Its real name is a grand one, Sleeve Coolan, _recte_ Sliabh Cualann. But in spite of the generally rounded outlines of the Wicklow Mountains, there are some splendid alpine views to be seen among them; and none finer than from the Glen of Lugalaw, about seven or eight miles from Bray.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

4. Hugo de Lacy's powder-blown castle, the 'Prior's house'

   Clonmacnoise · townland · Offaly · 1170–1199

   The ruined castle at Clonmacnois, built by Hugo de Lacy in the late twelfth century and popularly called the Prior's house, was a place of immense defensive strength with a fosse forty feet deep and walls six to eight feet thick, later destroyed by gunpowder.

   Read the passage

   One of the great curiosities of Clonmacnois is the powder-blown-up castle built by Hugo de Lacy in the latter part of the twelfth century, the remains of which stand on a hill about two hundred yards from the cemetery. It is generally known as the Prior's house, but it was evidently built as a place of defence. It was one of the strongest castles ever erected in Ireland. Although comparatively small, building and enclosure not covering more than half an acre, it was a place of immense strength, and before the invention of gunpowder could have defied a host. It is encompassed by a fosse in some places forty feet in depth, that descends sheer from the walls. The walls are of immense thickness and strength, from six to eight feet thick in many places, and so firmly are the stones embedded in grouting that to detach one of them from the powder-riven walls, or from the vast masses of blown-up masonry that lie scattered around, a hammer and chisel would be required. Huge heaps of the ruined walls, some of them tons in weight, have been tumbled into the deep fosse that surrounds the castle, but they are still almost as solid as rocks. If ever the art of building solid walls was brought to perfection, it was by those who reared this now ruined pile. To know the strength of gunpowder and the solidity of ancient masonry, one should see this ruined castle of Clonmacnois.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 7

5. King of Munster yields at Cashel

   Cashel · townland · Tipperary · 942

   At Cashel, the King of Munster, Callachan, initially showed fight against Muircheartach's men, who threw off their leather cloaks to stand by their leader, but eventually yielded and was carried away prisoner with a golden fetter.

   Read the passage

   Muircheartach then proceeded south-west from Dublin to Aillinn, and carried away the King of Leinster. He then made for Cashel, where the King of Munster lived. But Callachan, that was his name, showed fight, and Muircheartach's men threw off their leather cloaks and prepared to stand by him. However, seeing that things were beginning to look serious, the King of Munster yielded and was carried away prisoner with a golden fetter on him. The leader of the Circuit then turned northwards into Connacht, and carried away the king of that province. So he had the four provincial kings in his power, and also the Danish King of Dublin. But he did them neither hurt nor harm, for he seems to have been in a good humour all the time he was "on circuit"; and we are told by his poet laureate that on their halts the soldiers amused themselves in many ways, especially by music and dancing, and he says--

   "Music we had on the plain and in our tents, Listening to its strains, we danced awhile; There, methinks, a heavy noise was made By the shaking of our hard cloaks."

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

   As the companion tells it

   Somewhere around here in 942, Muircheartach came to Cashel looking for the King of Munster. He had already taken the King of Leinster at Aillinn, and before that the Danish King of Dublin. The king here was called Callachan, and he did not give in quietly. He showed fight. Muircheartach's men threw off their leather cloaks and stood by their leader, ready for it. But Callachan saw things were beginning to look serious, and he yielded. They carried him away prisoner with a golden fetter on him. Muircheartach then turned north into Connacht and took that king too. So he held the four provincial kings and the Danish King of Dublin all at once. Yet he did them neither hurt nor harm. His poet laureate wrote that on their halts the soldiers amused themselves with music and dancing, and said: "Music we had on the plain and in our tents, listening to its strains, we danced awhile." He said a heavy noise was made by the shaking of their hard cloaks.

6. Niall Glundubh Killed Near Rathfarnham

   near Kilmashogue · street · Dublin · 917

   In 917 Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by the Danes and his army defeated at Killmashogue, beyond Rathfarnham, as he attempted to attack Dublin from the south.

   Read the passage

   We have no account of the first siege of Dublin by the Danes in 836. The annals merely say that a fleet of sixty ships of Northmen came to the Liffey, and that that was the first occupation of the city by them. The Irish captured and plundered Dublin a great many times, but do not appear to have ever tried to banish the Danes permanently out of it. It is probable that the Irish found them useful as carriers of merchandise to them from foreign countries; for seeing how often the city was captured and plundered by the Irish, it is incredible that they could not have held it had they chosen to do so. The Four Masters record its capture and plunder by the Irish in A.D. 942, 945, 988, and 998. In 994 Malachy II. sacked Dublin and carried off two Danish trophies, the ring of Tomar and the sword of Karl; and in 988 he besieged it for twenty days and twenty nights, captured it, and carried off an immense booty; and issued the famous edict, "Every Irishman that is in slavery and oppression in the country of the foreigners (Danes) let him go to his own country in peace and delight." But the Irish were not always lucky in their attacks on the Danes of Dublin, for in 917 Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by them, and his army defeated at Killmashogue, beyond Rathfarnham. He evidently intended to take Dublin from the south, because it was so well defended on the north by the Liffey. The battle usually known as the battle of Clontarf was not fought in the locality now called by that name, but between the Liffey and the Tolka. Where Amien Street is now was probably the very centre of the battle-field. Here it may not be out of place to make a remark on the curious fact that the Danes never made any serious attempt to conquer Ireland after the battle of Clontarf, although they were at the height of their power some six or eight years after by the terrible defeat they gave the Saxons at Ashington, in Essex, which gave Canute the crown of England. He thus became not only King of England, but was King of Denmark and Norway as well--the most powerful potentate in Christendom in his time. It is strange that historians have not taken any notice of this extraordinary fact. There was comparatively little fighting between the Irish and the Danes after the battle of Clontarf, although the foreign people held Dublin until the arrival of Strongbow, and made a very poor stand against him, for he captured the city with very little difficulty. Dublin has hardly suffered what could be called a siege since 988, when Malachy II. took it from the Danes. When Strongbow held it, the Irish under the wretched Roderick O'Connor marched a great army under its walls, and were going to take it; but before they began siege operations, and while they were amusing themselves by swimming in the Liffey, Strongbow sallied out on them and totally defeated them. That was the last serious attempt to besiege Dublin.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 22

   As the companion tells it

   Near here, somewhere about Kilmashogue, Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by the Danes in 917. His army was defeated on this ground. He had come to take Dublin from the south, because the city was well defended on the north by the Liffey. The Danes had first occupied Dublin in 836, when a fleet of 60 ships of Northmen came to the Liffey. The Irish captured and plundered Dublin many times after that, but never seem to have tried to banish the Danes permanently. The Four Masters record its capture and plunder by the Irish in 942, 945, 988, and 998. It is probable the Irish found the Danes useful as carriers of merchandise from foreign countries, for given how often the city was taken and plundered, it is incredible they could not have held it had they chosen to. The Irish were not always lucky in their attacks on the Danes of Dublin. Niall Glundubh's death in 917 was a serious reversal. But later, Malachy II. besieged Dublin for 20 days and 20 nights in 988, captured it, and carried off an immense booty. He issued a famous edict: "Every Irishman that is in slavery and oppression in the country of the foreigners let him go to his own country in peace and delight." In 994 Malachy II. sacked Dublin again and carried off two Danish trophies, the ring of Tomar and the sword of Karl.

7. Only two surviving edifices at Glendaloch: round tower and Kevin's Kitchen

   Glendalough · electoral division · Wicklow

   Of all the ancient buildings once at Glendaloch, only the round tower and the stone-roofed structure known as Kevin's Kitchen still stand, the latter considered one of the oldest such buildings in Ireland. Remains of seven churches are said still to be visible, and Petrie claimed to have traced the tracks of the ancient walled city.

   Read the passage

   Glendaloch has been ruined and uprooted in a shocking manner. Of all its edifices there are only two that still stand--namely, the round tower and the building known as "Kevin's Kitchen." This latter is stone-roofed, and is considered to be one of the oldest buildings of the kind in Ireland. Archaeologists are not agreed as to what particular use it was originally intended, but that it was an ecclesiastical edifice of some kind seems to be the opinion of everyone. There are, it is said, the remains of seven churches still to be seen in Glendaloch. It appears to have been a walled city, and Petrie, one of the most painstaking and learned archaeologists that ever Ireland produced, claimed to have traced the tracks of the walls in many places. That it contained a large population in the eighth and ninth centuries seems to admit of little doubt. Oengus the Culdee, whose verse in which Glendaloch is mentioned has been given in the article on "Emania the Golden," calls it "multitudinous Glendaloch," and "the Rome of the western world." Allowing for the exaggeration of which ancient Gaelic poets may have been rather too fond, it must be admitted that what they say cannot be entirely ignored; and it is more than probable that immediately before the Danes and other northern nations began their raids on Ireland, Glendaloch may have been, and probably was, a large monastic city, as cities were in those days. The Irish monasteries of the eighth and ninth centuries were probably the wealthiest in the world, if not in lands, at least in gold and silver. Where or how they got, or where or how the ancient Irish got, such quantities of the precious metals is a mystery that may never be solved; but that Ireland had an enormous amount of gold and silver in ancient times there can be no doubt at all. This would be sufficiently proved by the quantity, not of coined money, for they had not any, but of ornaments of almost every kind that have been found in all parts of the country, more, it is said, than have been found in the rest of Europe. There is hardly a barony in Ireland, it might be said hardly a parish, in which stories are not told of people having become suddenly rich by finding, it is naturally supposed, treasure trove in the shape of gold ornaments, very few of which have been preserved, for they were generally melted down. Sir Wm. Wilde mentions, in one of his catalogues of articles in the Royal Irish Academy, a find of L3000 worth of gold ornaments in the County Clare some fifty years ago. It seems a well-ascertained fact that two labourers found over L20,000 worth of gold ornaments when working on a railway in Munster some forty odd years ago. The founder of one of the largest jewellery houses in Ireland told a friend of the writer's that his first "rise" in business was brought about by buying antique gold ornaments, at sometimes not half their value, from people who brought them to him from the country.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

8. Petrie and O'Donovan's survey of Tara's antiquities

   Tara · parish · Meath

   Dr Petrie, aided by Gaelic scholar John O'Donovan, translated ancient manuscript mentions of Tara and compared them with the existing remains, finding strong agreement that verified the ancient accounts of Tara's extent and splendour in Pagan times.

   Read the passage

   The descriptions of Tara given in ancient Gaelic writings have been verified in the most remarkable manner by the researches of modern archaeologists. Dr Petrie's great work, "The Antiquities of Tara Hill," would go far to remove the prejudices of the most bigoted despiser of Irish historic records. He was one of the most learned and scientific investigators of antiquities that ever lived, and was not only a good Gaelic scholar himself, but had the assistance of the greatest Gaelic scholar of the century, John O'Donovan. Those two gentlemen translated every mention of Tara that they could find in prose or verse in ancient Irish manuscripts; they compared every mention they could find of the monuments of Tara with what remains of them at present; and they found such a general agreement between ancient descriptions of those monuments and the existing remains of them as proved what is said in Gaelic manuscripts about the extent and splendour of Tara in Pagan times to be well worthy of credence. Every one who visits Tara, and who is in any way interested in archaeology, should have Doctor Petrie's map of it, which will be found in his minute and elaborate work on the "Antiquities of Tara Hill." That map is reproduced here. The book is very scarce, as only a small edition of it was printed, but it can be found in the "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy." Armed with Petrie's map a visit to Tara would be one of the most interesting and enjoyable excursions that could be made from Dublin. Kilmessan Station can be reached from the Broadstone terminus in an hour, and less than two miles of a walk through a beautiful country brings one to the summit of "the Hill of Supremacy," as it was called of old when he who ruled in Tara ruled Ireland. No matter how confirmed an archaeologist he may be who stands for the first time on this celebrated hill, his first feeling will be of joy at the beauty of the prospect that is spread before him. To know how beautiful Ireland is, even in those places that are not on the track of tourists, and that are seldom mentioned in guide books, one should see the view from the hill of Tara.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

9. Roderick O'Connor retires to Cong Abbey in penance

   near Cong Abbey · ecclesiastical site · Mayo

   Roderick O'Connor, called Ireland's last chief king, retired to Cong Abbey to lament his sins and the power lost through his own carelessness. The author judges him one of Ireland's worst kings, quoting Moore's condemnation of his unworthiness.

   Read the passage

   It is doubtful if there is in Ireland--there certainly is not in the province of Connacht--a more interesting ruin than Cong Abbey. Its situation is beautiful, between two great lakes, with a background of some of the wildest and ruggedest mountains in Ireland. It would be hard to conceive of a place more suited for a life of religious meditation than this venerable pile, into which he who is called Ireland's last chief king retired to bewail his sins and lament for the power that his own pusillanimity and carelessness had allowed to pass away from him and his family for ever. If Roderick O'Connor was the last of Ireland's monarchs, he was also one of her worst. History hardly tells of a good act of his except the endowment of the Abbey of Cong; and the greater the light is that is thrown on the history of Ireland by the translation of her ancient annals, the weaker and more imbecile the character of Roderick appears, and the more just and merited that which Moore says of him in his history of Ireland:--"The only feeling the name [of Roderick] awakens is that of pity for the doomed country which at such a crisis of its fortunes, when honour, safety, independence, and national existence were all at stake, was cursed for the crowning of its evil destiny with a ruler and leader so entirely unworthy of his high calling." If the Anglo-French invasion of Ireland had occurred in the reign of his brave and warlike father, Turloch, one of the greatest of those who claimed the chief sovereignty of Ireland, the invaders would almost certainly have been all killed within a month after they landed, and the subsequent history of Ireland would probably be very different from what it has been.

   Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 13

10. Strongbow Defeats Roderick O'Connor Outside Dublin

    Dublin · city · Dublin · 1170–1171

    When Strongbow held Dublin, Roderick O'Connor marched a great Irish army under its walls intending to besiege it, but while his men were swimming in the Liffey, Strongbow sallied out and totally defeated them, the last serious attempt to besiege the city.

    Read the passage

    We have no account of the first siege of Dublin by the Danes in 836. The annals merely say that a fleet of sixty ships of Northmen came to the Liffey, and that that was the first occupation of the city by them. The Irish captured and plundered Dublin a great many times, but do not appear to have ever tried to banish the Danes permanently out of it. It is probable that the Irish found them useful as carriers of merchandise to them from foreign countries; for seeing how often the city was captured and plundered by the Irish, it is incredible that they could not have held it had they chosen to do so. The Four Masters record its capture and plunder by the Irish in A.D. 942, 945, 988, and 998. In 994 Malachy II. sacked Dublin and carried off two Danish trophies, the ring of Tomar and the sword of Karl; and in 988 he besieged it for twenty days and twenty nights, captured it, and carried off an immense booty; and issued the famous edict, "Every Irishman that is in slavery and oppression in the country of the foreigners (Danes) let him go to his own country in peace and delight." But the Irish were not always lucky in their attacks on the Danes of Dublin, for in 917 Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by them, and his army defeated at Killmashogue, beyond Rathfarnham. He evidently intended to take Dublin from the south, because it was so well defended on the north by the Liffey. The battle usually known as the battle of Clontarf was not fought in the locality now called by that name, but between the Liffey and the Tolka. Where Amien Street is now was probably the very centre of the battle-field. Here it may not be out of place to make a remark on the curious fact that the Danes never made any serious attempt to conquer Ireland after the battle of Clontarf, although they were at the height of their power some six or eight years after by the terrible defeat they gave the Saxons at Ashington, in Essex, which gave Canute the crown of England. He thus became not only King of England, but was King of Denmark and Norway as well--the most powerful potentate in Christendom in his time. It is strange that historians have not taken any notice of this extraordinary fact. There was comparatively little fighting between the Irish and the Danes after the battle of Clontarf, although the foreign people held Dublin until the arrival of Strongbow, and made a very poor stand against him, for he captured the city with very little difficulty. Dublin has hardly suffered what could be called a siege since 988, when Malachy II. took it from the Danes. When Strongbow held it, the Irish under the wretched Roderick O'Connor marched a great army under its walls, and were going to take it; but before they began siege operations, and while they were amusing themselves by swimming in the Liffey, Strongbow sallied out on them and totally defeated them. That was the last serious attempt to besiege Dublin.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 22

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Dublin, you are moving through ground that was fought over for centuries. The Danes first came to the Liffey in 836, with a fleet of sixty ships, and held the city for generations. The Irish captured and plundered Dublin many times, in 942, 945, 988, and 998, but never seems to have tried to drive the Danes out for good. It is probable the Irish found them useful as carriers of merchandise from foreign countries. In 988 Malachy the Second besieged Dublin for twenty days and twenty nights, took it, and carried off an immense booty. He issued a famous edict: every Irishman that is in slavery and oppression in the country of the foreigners, let him go to his own country in peace and delight. But the Irish were not always lucky. In 917 Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by the Danes and his army defeated at Killmashogue, beyond Rathfarnham. The Danes held Dublin until the arrival of Strongbow, and made a very poor stand against him. He captured the city with very little difficulty. Dublin has hardly suffered what could be called a siege since 988, when Malachy the Second took it from the Danes. Then, when Strongbow held it, the Irish under Roderick O'Connor marched a great army under its walls and were going to take it. But before they began siege operations, and while they were amusing themselves by swimming in the Liffey, Strongbow sallied out on them and totally defeated them. That was the last serious attempt to besiege Dublin.

11. The Druid cromlechs of Carrowmore

    Carrowmore · townland · Sligo

    Near Sligo town, Carrowmore contains an extraordinary concentration of almost fifty cromlechs of varying sizes packed into about half a dozen acres, likened to a Stonehenge-like site, though many have been destroyed or built into road walls over time.

    Read the passage

    It is a "far cry" from Achill to Slieve League in Donegal--considerably over a hundred miles if the coast is followed; but between the giant sea walls of that island and Slieve League there is nothing of their kind that will in any way bear comparison with them. There is, however, much magnificent scenery on the northern coast of Connacht, and also a great many things of antiquarian interest. There is the extraordinary Druid remains of Carrowmore, only three miles from Sligo town, where there are almost, if not quite, half a hundred cromlechs to be seen on about half a dozen acres. They are of almost all sizes. Some of them are baby cromlechs, the top stones of which are not much more than a hundredweight. This place must have been a sort of Stonehenge at one time. In no other known spot of either these islands or France are so many cromlechs to be seen in so small a space, and very few seem to know anything about it. Sir Samuel Ferguson seems to have been the only person who has written anything about it. But here the same disrespect for monuments of antiquity that has been so long prevalent all over the country may be noticed. Many of the cromlechs have been torn down, and some of them have been actually made to serve as road walls and have been built over. Fully half of them have been either utterly torn down or in some way mutilated. Their generally small size has made them an easy prey for those who wanted stones to build walls or houses. These curious relics of far-back ages should not be allowed to be any further ruined.

    [Illustration: LOCH GILL.]

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 21

12. The Giant's Ring, a vast rath near Belfast

    Giant's Ring · monument · Down

    The Giant's Ring is an extraordinary earthen rath near Belfast enclosing seven acres, with a cromlech at its centre and twenty-foot ramparts, yet no annals, history, or legend record its builders. A protective wall built by the landlord has preserved it from spoliation.

    Read the passage

    Belfast and its environs cannot be said to be very rich in monuments of antiquity. There are, however, two round towers not far from it; one at Antrim, some fifteen miles away, in excellent preservation; and one at Drumbo, in the County Down, about five miles from the city. The last is in a ruined condition--not much more than thirty feet of it remains. But Belfast can boast of the most extraordinary monument of antiquity of its kind in Ireland being in its immediate vicinity. This is the vast _rath_ known as the Giant's Ring. There is nothing in Ireland so fine as it. The _rath_ on the summit of Knock Aillinn, in the County Kildare, which has been already described in the article on that hill, is much larger, and encloses three times the space; but the earthen ramparts are not nearly so high as those of the Giant's Ring. The space enclosed by this gigantic rath is seven statute acres. When standing in the centre of this ancient fortress, nothing is seen but the sky above and the vast earthworks all around. The centre is as level and almost as smooth as a billiard table, and exactly in the centre stands a cromlech. Old men living in the locality say that the ramparts were for many years planted with potatoes. This must have reduced their height by many feet; but they are still nearly, if not quite, twenty feet high. Like most ancient raths, it has two entrances, one exactly opposite the other. It would give ample room to a population of some thousands, and was evidently an ancient city. But one of the most extraordinary things connected with the Giant's Ring is that annals, history, and legend are silent about it. So far, there seems to be no more known about those who built the Giant's Ring than about the builders of the temples of Central America. It is the same with many of the vast Cyclopean forts along the west coast, of which the Stague fort in Kerry and the forts in the islands of Arran in Galway are the most remarkable. There are, however, very few large earthen forts in any part of Ireland about which annals and history are alike silent. The Giant's Ring is by far the most remarkable structure of its kind in Ireland, and the most remarkable of all the ancient remains in the vicinity of Belfast. It has been much better preserved than most of the remains of its kind in Ireland, for the landlord on whose property it is has built a stone wall round it, so it is safe from spoliation.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 23

13. The Lia Fail Said to Have Been Taken from Tara to Scotland

    near Tara · hill or hills · Meath · 503–1296

    The author argues the real Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny) was removed from Tara around 503 AD, taken by Fergus Mac Earc to Scotland for his coronation, and later moved to Westminster Abbey by Edward I in 1296. He disputes Petrie's claim that the pillar stone still standing at Tara is the genuine Lia Fail.

    Read the passage

    Taking everything into consideration, there seem to be very strong reasons to believe that the Lia Fail was taken from Tara to Scotland at the time it is popularly believed to have been taken--namely, about the year 503 of the Christian era; that it was taken in order to have Fergus Mac Earc inaugurated on it as king over that part of Scotland which he had brought under his domination; that it was taken from Scone to Westminster by Edward the First in the year 1296, and that it is now under the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey. It seems strange how a man of Doctor Petrie's archaeological knowledge could have been led to believe that the pillar stone still in Tara, for whatever use it may have been originally intended, was the real Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny.

    It would be most instructive and interesting if a scientific examination was made of the stone under the coronation chair. If it was proved to be a meteoric stone, its fame and the reverence with which it was so long regarded could be easily understood. If an ancient tribe saw a stone falling from heaven among them, they would regard such a thing as a miracle, and think that the stone was sent to them for some special purpose. They would, if possible, take it with them wherever they went. If the Lia Fail was proved to be a meteoric stone, the esteem and honour in which it was so long held, and the power which it was believed to possess, would be easily accounted for.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

14. The Tara Brooch and Book of Kells in Dublin Museums

    Kildare Street · street · Dublin

    The Tara Brooch, an unequalled work of ancient Irish metallurgical art, is kept in the Museum on Kildare Street, Dublin, while the Book of Kells resides in Trinity College, Dublin, the two together representing unmatched masterpieces of ancient Irish artistry.

    Read the passage

    That wondrous manuscript known as the Book of Kells, although it is not believed to have been written in that town, has been named from it, and consequently should be mentioned in connection with it. That the book found its way to Kells, and that it was there for many centuries, there cannot be any doubt. Neither can there be any doubt that it belonged to the Church of Kells, for there are curious charters in it, written in Irish of a very archaic kind, relating to the clergy of that town. It seems to have been in Kildare in the twelfth century, for it is evidently of it that Giraldus Cambrensis speaks when he says, "Of all the wonders of Kildare, I found nothing more wonderful than the marvellous book that was written in the time of St Brigit." It was in the church of Kells until 1620, when Archbishop Ussher saved it from being destroyed. It is a Latin version of the Gospels, with some Gaelic charters, relating to the Church of Kells, that were bound into it many centuries after it was written. It was taken by the Danes, it is believed, and the golden cover torn off it; it was found buried in the ground some time after. This is recorded to have happened in 1006. It is the most wonderful work of art of its kind known to exist in any country, and it is no wonder that in a credulous age it should have been believed to be the work of angels. Westwood, an Englishman, and author of the greatest work on illuminated manuscripts ever written, says of it: "It is unquestionably the most elaborately executed manuscripts of so early a date now in existence." Doctor Waagen, Conservator of the Royal Museum of Berlin, says of it: "The ornamental pages, borders, and initial letters exhibit such a rich variety of beautiful and peculiar designs, so admirable a taste in the arrangement of colours, and such an uncommon perfection of finish, that one feels absolutely struck with amazement." Where and when the Book of Kells was executed, and by whom, will probably never be known; but it must have been written as early as the sixth century. Tradition attributes it to Columba, or, as he is usually called, Columb Cille. The late Dr Todd, one of the most learned archaeologists, and one of the best Gaelic scholars that ever Ireland produced, believed that it was as early as the time of Columba. The author of _Topographia Hiberniae_ says of it: "The more frequently I behold it, the more diligently I examine it, the more I am lost in admiration of it." No one who has not seen the Book of Kells can form an idea of its beauty. In the pages that have not been soiled the colours are as pure and as bright as if they were laid on only yesterday. The naked eye cannot follow all its delicate and minute tracings; to see it aright, it should be seen through a microscope. It is beyond any doubt the most wonderful book of its kind in the world. In it and in the Tara Brooch Ireland possesses two works of ancient art, two gems of artistic beauty which are unequalled of their kind and of their age. The art treasures of metallurgy exhumed in Pompeii, and all that have been found in Greece and Asia Minor by Schliemann, contain nothing equal in exquisite finish to the Tara Brooch; and in all the treasures of illuminated manuscripts in the libraries of the world, there is nothing of its kind equal to the Book of Kells. The Tara Brooch can be seen in the Museum, Kildare Street, Dublin, and the Book of Kells in Trinity College, in the same city.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 19

    As the companion tells it

    Along here on Kildare Street you can see the Tara Brooch in the Museum, one of two masterpieces of ancient Irish art. The other, the Book of Kells, is kept at Trinity College in the same city. Together they are, in the words of the source, two gems of artistic beauty unequalled of their kind and of their age. The brooch is a work of metallurgy so fine that the treasures exhumed in Pompeii and all that Schliemann found in Greece and Asia Minor contain nothing equal in exquisite finish. The Book of Kells is a Latin version of the Gospels with Gaelic charters bound into it centuries later, relating to the Church of Kells. It was in Kildare in the twelfth century, for Giraldus Cambrensis wrote of it: the more frequently he beheld it, the more diligently he examined it, the more he was lost in admiration. The Danes took it and tore off its golden cover, and it was found buried in the ground, recorded in 1006. It stayed in the church of Kells until 1620, when Archbishop Ussher saved it from destruction. Tradition attributes it to Columba, and it must have been written as early as the sixth century. The colours on its unsoiled pages are as pure and bright as if laid on yesterday, and the naked eye cannot follow all its delicate tracings. In all the libraries of the world there is nothing of its kind equal to it.

15. Trim garrison surrenders after news of Drogheda massacre

    Trim · town · Meath · 1649

    Trim's Church of St Mary's and castle remained important until Cromwell's time, when the Royalist garrison surrendered after hearing of the massacre at Drogheda. Only one gable of the old church remains today.

    Read the passage

    If de Lacy's gigantic castle had never been built in Trim, it would still be an historic place. According to the most authentic annals, St Patrick founded a church there as early as 432, and Bishop Ere is the first name that is mentioned in connection with it after that of St Patrick. Trim continued to be an important place on account of its castle and its Church of St Mary's, until the time of Cromwell. It was strongly garrisoned by the Royalists; but after hearing of the taking of Drogheda, and the shocking massacre committed there, the garrison surrendered. Only one gable of the old Church of St Mary's remains. Judging by the great height of the part that remains, the Church must have been a very large one. The exact date of the building of the church or monastery to which the still-standing tower or steeple belonged, is not known with certainty, but it could not have formed part of the original one erected in the time of St Patrick.

    The most celebrated place in the immediate vicinity of Trim is Dangan Castle, where the Duke of Wellington is said by some to have been born. When Dangan passed out of the Duke's family, it was inhabited by a person who let it go partially to ruin. It was burned early in the present century, and is now an unsightly ruin. It is curious that there should be such doubt about the birth-place of one who made such a figure in the world as Wellington. Some say he was born in Dangan Castle; some say he was born in Dublin; but the people of Trim maintain that he was born in their town. The last time the writer was in Trim he was shown the house in which the Duke was said to have been born. He was told by a truthful and respectable resident of Trim that the Duke's mother had started from Dangan on her way to Dublin so that she might have the best medical aid during her expected accouchement, but having been taken ill when she got as far as Trim, she took lodgings in the town, and that it was there the Duke of Wellington was born. The exact truth about the matter will probably never be known.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 12

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up near the town of Trim in Meath. If de Lacy's gigantic castle had never been built here, Trim would still be an historic place. According to the most authentic annals, St Patrick founded a church here as early as 432, and Bishop Ere is the first name mentioned in connection with it after that of St Patrick. Trim continued to be important on account of its castle and its Church of St Mary's, until the time of Cromwell. It was strongly garrisoned by the Royalists. But after hearing of the taking of Drogheda, and the shocking massacre committed there, the garrison surrendered. That was in 1649. Only one gable of the old Church of St Mary's remains now. Judging by the great height of what is left, the church must have been a very large one. The exact date of the building of the church or monastery to which the still-standing tower or steeple belonged is not known with certainty, but it could not have formed part of the original one erected in the time of St Patrick. The most celebrated place in the immediate vicinity of Trim is Dangan Castle, where the Duke of Wellington is said by some to have been born. When Dangan passed out of the Duke's family, it was inhabited by a person who let it go partially to ruin. It was burned early in the present century and is now an unsightly ruin. Some say Wellington was born in Dangan Castle, some say Dublin, but the people of Trim maintain he was born in their town. A truthful and respectable resident told the writer that the Duke's mother had started from Dangan on her way to Dublin for medical aid, but taken ill as far as Trim, she took lodgings in the town, and it was there the Duke of Wellington was born. The exact truth will probably never be known.

16. Druid circle near Emania turned into a farmyard

    near Navan · monument · Armagh

    A remarkable Druid stone circle about a mile from Emania, enclosing roughly a quarter acre with stones averaging a ton each, has been converted by a farmer into a haggard, while another nearby circle was recently torn down and its stones broken for road-mending.

    Read the passage

    The country in the vicinity of Emania, while containing no striking objects of scenic interest, is, at the same time, picturesque and beautiful. Southern Ulster, even where it is not mountainous, is usually most varied and interesting in its general features. It is essentially a land of hills and valleys; but the hills are never so high that they cannot be cultivated, and the best land is sometimes found on their very tops. The country round Emania is extremely broken, hill and valley are on every side. It is generally, like most parts of Ulster, well cultivated. There are many antiquarian curiosities in the neighbourhood of this ancient fortress. Some of the most perfect Druid circles in Ireland are in its vicinity. There is a very remarkable one about a mile from it which a thrifty farmer has turned into a haggard. It encloses about quarter of an acre of ground. The stones of which it is composed stand about four feet over the surface, and must average nearly a ton each in weight. But vandalism is strong in the vicinity, for it is only a short time since another splendid Druid circle, nearly as large as the one mentioned, was torn down, and its stones broken to mend roads withal. Thus are many of the relics of ancient Erin disappearing before the march of denationalisation.

    Those who live in the vicinity of Emania tell many stories about the finding of treasure-trove close to and in this ancient fortress. According to them, gold ornaments of great value were found by some persons many years ago who suddenly became rich, much to the surprise of their neighbours. Those ornaments were, of course, melted down, and like hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of similar articles found in almost every part of Ireland, never found their way to any museum, and are lost to the country for ever. There can hardly be any doubt that some very valuable articles in gold have been found near Emania.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 4

17. Kildare's disfigured round tower

    Kildare · town · Kildare

    The round tower of Kildare, over one hundred and thirty feet high and one of the highest in Ireland, survives almost perfectly except that it has been given an incongruous castellated top, which the author calls a disgrace that should be corrected.

    Read the passage

    Hardly a vestige of the ancient buildings of Kildare remain save the round tower. It is over one hundred and thirty feet in height, and therefore one of the highest in Ireland. It seems as perfect as it was the day it was finished. It is sad to say that it is the most completely spoiled--bedevilled would probably be a better word--of all the Irish round towers; for some person or persons whose memories should be held in everlasting abhorrence by every archaeologist, have put an incongruous, ridiculous, castellated top on it that makes it look as unsightly and as horrible as a statue of Julius Caesar would look with a stove-pipe hat on its head. The people of Kildare and its vicinity should at once raise funds and have a proper, antique roof put on their tower, for it is an absolute disgrace to them as it is at present. The top of the tower may have been destroyed by lightning, or, like many other round towers, it may have been left unfinished, and may never have had a top or roof on it. But whatever may have happened to it, its present castellated roof is a disgraceful incongruity.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 8

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Kildare, almost nothing remains of its ancient buildings except the round tower. It stands over 130 feet high, one of the highest in Ireland, and seems as perfect as the day it was finished. But someone whose memory should be held in everlasting abhorrence by every archaeologist has put an incongruous, ridiculous, castellated top on it. The author calls it the most completely spoiled of all the Irish round towers, saying it looks as unsightly as a statue of Julius Caesar would look with a stove-pipe hat on its head. The top may have been destroyed by lightning, or like many other such towers it may never have had a roof at all. But whatever happened, the present castellated roof is what the author calls a disgraceful incongruity. The people of the town and its vicinity should raise funds and have a proper, antique roof put on it, for as it stands it is, in the author's words, an absolute disgrace to them.

18. Legend of the giant Joyce and the cart shaft

    near Joyce Country · locality · Galway

    In the Joyce Country, renowned for the gigantic size of its men, a story is told of a giant Joyce who, attacked by ten enemies while unarmed, tore a shaft from his cart and used it as a weapon, causing his attackers to retreat.

    Read the passage

    But although the lower part of Loch Corrib cannot boast of much scenic beauty, its upper part is magnificent. It thrusts its sinuous arms up into the wildest recesses of the Joyce Country, and among mountains of fantastic forms. The Joyce Country, _Duthaigh Sheoghach_ in Gaelic, has ever been remarkable for the gigantic size of its men. There have been scores of Joyces who were from six feet four to six feet six in height, and stout in proportion. There are still some of its men of immense size. It is said that not so very long ago a giant Joyce was going home from a fair or market, and that a faction of ten men who were not on perfectly friendly terms with him, followed him to beat or perhaps kill him. Joyce had no weapons or means of defence of any kind, so he unyoked the horse from the cart or dray on which he was riding, tore it to pieces, armed himself with one of its shafts as a "shillelagh," and awaited his enemies; but they seem not to have liked being hit with the shaft of a cart and retreated. Those who like can believe or not believe this story. It is given as the writer heard it from a very respectable gentleman who knew Joyce.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 13

19. Local Ignorance of Cuchulainn During the Ordnance Survey

    Castletown · townland · Louth · 1830–1840

    During the Ordnance Survey of Louth some sixty years before writing, surveyors found that no one near Castletown knew anything about Cuchulainn, with locals attributing the fort instead to the Danes or to Finn Mac Cool.

    Read the passage

    If Cuchulainn did not fill such an important place in what may be called classic Gaelic literature, the total ignorance about him in the very place where he was born and where he lived would not be such a national disgrace as it is. The mere remnant of Gaelic literature in which he is the central figure is immense. No other race in Europe would have so totally lost sight of a personage that was the hero of so many tracts and stories, and who was, besides, an historic character, and not a myth. Even sixty years ago, during the Ordnance Survey of Louth, the parties employed on it found that no one in the neighbourhood of Castletown, the modern name of the place in which Cuchulainn's fort is situated, knew or heard anything about him. They were told by the peasantry that the fort was made by the Danes! Some said it was the work of Finn Mac Cool; but of the real owner of it, they knew nothing.

    It is evident that the Irish monks of early mediaeval times were much more broad-minded and liberal than their countrymen of the same class of more recent years. It is to monks and inmates of monasteries that we owe nine-tenths of the Gaelic literature that has come down to us. They produced more books in proportion to their numbers than perhaps any class of men of their kind that lived in ancient times. They were sincere Christians, but, like patriots, they loved to record the deeds of their pagan ancestors. Just as soon as national decay set in they were succeeded by men of their own calling, who appear to have thought little worth recording except the works of saints, or at least of those who professed Christianity. If the monks of the early centuries of Christian Ireland were as narrow-minded as the Four Masters, we never, probably, would know anything about Cuchulainn, Queen Meave, Conall Carnach, or any of the heroes of pagan Ireland, round whom there is woven such a wondrous web of legend, romance, and song. Every patriotic Irishman should revere the memories of those liberal-minded monks who handed down to us the doings of their pagan forefathers. To show how much those men valued the literature, and loved to recount the exploits of their pagan ancestors, it will only be necessary to give the words of the dear old soul who copied the _Tain Bo Cuailgne_, the great epic of pagan times, into the "Book of Leinster": "A blessing on every one who will faithfully remember the _Tain_ as it is [written] here, and who will not put another shape on it."

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 20

20. The crosses of Monasterboice deliberately defaced

    Monasterboice · townland · Louth

    Monasterboice's three high crosses include the finest of all ancient Irish crosses; one cross was so badly broken it needed to be patched into stonework, apparently through deliberate destruction by barbarians using a sledgehammer.

    Read the passage

    Monasterboice is one of the oldest places connected with Christianity in Ireland. Its foundation may have been as old as the time of St Patrick, for Buite, from whom it takes its name, and by whom it probably was founded, died in the year 524. There seems good reason to believe that "Buite" is the original form of the now very plentiful name "Boyd," but how Monaster Buite got twisted into Monasterboice is a mystery. The situation of this ancient place is not nearly so picturesque as that of Mellifont. There is no rushing river and no deep glen. Still the situation is good, and the country around very fine, and, like most parts of Louth, well cultivated. The peculiar glories of Monasterboice are its crosses and its round tower. There are three crosses, two in good preservation, but one was so broken that it had to be patched or fastened into solid stone work. It is most likely that it was purposely destroyed, for barbarians have done their best to cut down the great cross that stands in the same enclosure--the finest of all ancient Irish crosses. It must have taken days for a strong man with a heavy sledge-hammer to make such a deep indentation in the hard stone of which the cross is made. It was its extreme hardness that saved it from destruction and defacement. But hard as the stone of those crosses may be, it cannot resist the action of the elements, for the sculptures with which they are covered are now so effaced by time and weather, that they seem little more than masses of unintelligible tracings; but when those noble crosses were fresh from their makers' hands they must have been magnificent specimens of early Irish art.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 11

21. Turgesius the Dane's wife rules from the Cathedral

    Clonmacnoise · townland · Offaly · 830–845

    When Turgesius the Dane held sway over much of Ireland, his wife reportedly issued her orders from the Cathedral building at Clonmacnois, which was likely of wooden construction since no trace survives.

    Read the passage

    Clonmacnois was founded by St Kieran, who died in the year 549. There are records of the erection of most of its ancient buildings to be found in Irish annals and history. According to the _Chronicon Scottorum_, a work of high authority, the Cathedral was built in the year 909. The Cathedral that existed when Turgesius the Dane obtained sway for some years over the greater part of Ireland, and when his wife used to issue her orders from that building, was probably of wood, for no trace of it appears extant. Doctor Petrie says that the larger round tower was erected in the tenth century, and the smaller one in the eleventh or early part of the twelfth. There is good authority to prove that the nunnery was erected and endowed by the too well-remembered Dearvorgil, wife of O'Ruairc, whose _liaison_ with Dermot Mac Murrough, King of Leinster, is popularly believed to have brought about the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.

    One of the great curiosities of Clonmacnois is the powder-blown-up castle built by Hugo de Lacy in the latter part of the twelfth century, the remains of which stand on a hill about two hundred yards from the cemetery. It is generally known as the Prior's house, but it was evidently built as a place of defence. It was one of the strongest castles ever erected in Ireland. Although comparatively small, building and enclosure not covering more than half an acre, it was a place of immense strength, and before the invention of gunpowder could have defied a host. It is encompassed by a fosse in some places forty feet in depth, that descends sheer from the walls. The walls are of immense thickness and strength, from six to eight feet thick in many places, and so firmly are the stones embedded in grouting that to detach one of them from the powder-riven walls, or from the vast masses of blown-up masonry that lie scattered around, a hammer and chisel would be required. Huge heaps of the ruined walls, some of them tons in weight, have been tumbled into the deep fosse that surrounds the castle, but they are still almost as solid as rocks. If ever the art of building solid walls was brought to perfection, it was by those who reared this now ruined pile. To know the strength of gunpowder and the solidity of ancient masonry, one should see this ruined castle of Clonmacnois.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 7

22. Attempted destruction of the Cross of Monasterboice

    Monasterboice · townland · Louth

    Vandals tried with sledges and hammers to overthrow the great high cross of Monasterboice in Louth, but the hardness of the stone meant they only managed to mutilate, not destroy, the monument.

    Read the passage

    Cong Abbey is a large building nearly 150 feet in length. Few of the ancient churches of Ireland are any longer, and many of them are not nearly so long. It would be a mistake to say that the ruins at Cong are in a good state of preservation, for traces of violence and vandalism are apparent almost everywhere on them. The whole place has a terribly dilapidated look. It has been said that only for ivy and the Guinnesses the Abbey of Cong would have tumbled down long ago. It is true that ivy has prevented great masses of masonry from falling; and it is true that the late Sir Benjamin Guinness did a good deal of mending on the old walls. But it was before his time, when religious intolerance was worse than it is at present, that Cong Abbey was mutilated and defaced. It is sad to know that there is hardly an old religious edifice in Ireland that has not suffered from sectarian animosity. The ruins of Mellifont, near Drogheda, have been torn up from their foundations, so that hardly a trace of that once magnificent abbey now remains except the crypts and the vast walls and fosses by which it was surrounded. Ruthless vandals tried their best with sledges and hammers to overthrow the great cross of Monasterboice in Louth, but the stone of which it consists was too hard for them, for they only succeeded in mutilating what they could not destroy.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 13

23. Belfast Castle taken and demolished by O'Neill, 1476

    near Belfast · city · Antrim · 1476

    The Annals of the Four Masters record that in 1476 a great army led by O'Neill attacked and demolished the castle of Bel-feiriste (Belfast), the earliest mention of the place in Irish annals.

    Read the passage

    Belfast hardly figures at all in ancient Irish history or annals. It is a comparatively new place. It is first mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1476, where it is said, "A great army was led by O'Neill against the son of Hugh Boy O'Neill; and he attacked the castle of Bel-feiriste, which he took and demolished, and then returned to his house." The name Belfast is a corruption of _Bel-feiriste_, or as it would probably be written in modern Irish, Beulfearsaide, the mouth or pass of the spindle. This seems nonsense, but the following, from Joyce's "Irish Names of Places," will explain it: "The word _fearsad_ is applied to a sand-bank formed near the mouth of a river by the opposing currents of tide and stream, which at low water often formed a firm and comparatively safe passage across. The term is pretty common, especially in the west, where these _fearsets_ are of considerable importance; as in many places they serve the inhabitants instead of bridges. A sand-bank of this kind across the mouth of the Lagan gave name to Belfast, which is called in Irish authorities Bel-feirisde, the ford of the _farset_; and the same name in the uncontracted form, Belfarsad, occurs in Mayo." The Irish name for a spindle is _fearsaid_; it also means a sand-bank, as described above, probably because the shape of such sand-banks is generally something like that of a spindle. According to the orthography of the Four Masters, whose spelling of place names is generally correct, _feiriste_ is the genitive singular of _fearsaid_; while in the name "Belfarsad," mentioned by Joyce, _forsad_ seems to be the genitive plural.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 23

24. Cashel's peculiar and superb hilltop situation

    Cashel · townland · Tipperary

    The Rock of Cashel is described as one of the most imposing piles of ecclesiastical ruins in Europe, situated superbly overlooking fertile country, comparable in grandeur to Mont St Michael in France.

    Read the passage

    The situation of Cashel is not only beautiful but superb. There is no other place of its kind in Ireland situated like it. Its situation is as peculiar as that of Glendaloch or Clonmacnois. It is, perhaps, the most imposing pile of ecclesiastical ruins in Europe. Mont St Michael in France can hardly compare with Cashel in commanding beauty of situation. One overlooks the chilly sea, but the other overlooks as warm, as fair, and as fertile a country as there is in the world.

    [Illustration: BUILDINGS ON THE ROCK OF CASHEL.]

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here stands the Rock of Cashel, one of the most imposing piles of ecclesiastical ruins in Europe. Its situation is not only beautiful but superb, with no other place in Ireland quite like it. The writer compared it to Mont St Michel in France, but said that while that one overlooks the chilly sea, Cashel overlooks as warm, as fair, and as fertile a country as there is in the world.

25. Croghan na Veena and the murder of the children of Uisneach

    near Rathcroghan · monument · Roscommon

    The melody later known as 'Avenging and Bright' was originally called 'Croghan na Veena' or 'Croghan of the Heroes,' referring to the murder of the children of Uisneach, which occurred when Rathcroghan was at the height of its glory under Queen Meave.

    Read the passage

    The country around Rathcroghan abounds in antiquities of far-back ages. Sepulchral mounds, ruined raths, tortuous caves, and weather-worn cromlechs are to be found on almost every side. It is a spot where the antiquarian might revel for weeks and find something every day to interest him. It is a beautiful country also, not a plain, in the strict sense of the word, and yet not hills, but what an American would call "rolling," and a Frenchman "accidente." It is the "Magh Aoi" of Queen Meave's time, and "Machaire Chonnacht," or plain of Connacht, of later days. It is part of the celebrated Plains of Boyle, and is considered to contain some of the best grass land in Ireland. No fairer spot could be found in Connacht for the dwelling of a potentate who dealt largely in cattle than the green eminence on which Queen Meave had her palace, and both history and legend say that her flocks and herds were well-nigh innumerable. She made her home in the centre of the fairest and richest part of the province she ruled; and long as that home has been desolate, it has not been forgotten in history or in song, for that noble melody which Moore has made immortal--"Avenging and Bright Fall the Swift Sword of Erin"--was first known as "Croghan na Veena," or "Croghan of the Heroes"; and the incident to which it refers--the murder of the children of Uisneach--occurred when Queen Meave was at the height of her splendour, when Rathcroghan was in its glory, and when it was really the dwelling-place of heroes.

    There are many mentions of Rathcroghan in ancient Gaelic writings, and all of them speak of it as one of the most important places in Ireland in Pagan times. Oengus, the Culdee, whose poem has been already referred to, says of it--

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 5

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere about Rathcroghan, the country abounds in antiquities of far-back ages. Sepulchral mounds, ruined raths, tortuous caves, and weather-worn cromlechs are to be found on almost every side. It is a spot where the antiquarian might revel for weeks and find something every day to interest him. The land is beautiful, not a plain in the strict sense, and yet not hills, but what an American would call rolling, and a Frenchman accidente. It is the Magh Aoi of Queen Meave's time, and Machaire Chonnacht, or plain of Connacht, of later days. It is part of the celebrated Plains of Boyle, and is considered to contain some of the best grass land in Ireland. No fairer spot could be found in Connacht for the dwelling of a potentate who dealt largely in cattle than the green eminence on which Queen Meave had her palace, and both history and legend say that her flocks and herds were well-nigh innumerable. She made her home in the centre of the fairest and richest part of the province she ruled. Long as that home has been desolate, it has not been forgotten in history or in song, for that noble melody which Moore has made immortal, Avenging and Bright Fall the Swift Sword of Erin, was first known as Croghan na Veena, or Croghan of the Heroes. The incident to which it refers, the murder of the children of Uisneach, occurred when Queen Meave was at the height of her splendour, when Rathcroghan was in its glory, and when it was really the dwelling-place of heroes.

26. Five great roads radiating from Tara

    Tara · parish · Meath

    Tara was the political and social centre of ancient Ireland, and it is the only place in ancient Gaelic writings connected with named roads. Five great roads led outward from Tara to the extremities of the island, traces of which can still be seen by a practised eye.

    Read the passage

    The poet contrasts the desolation into which the strongholds of the Pagans had fallen with the then flourishing condition of the centres of Christian teaching. Tara was the political as well as the social centre of ancient Ireland. It is in connection with it that the only mention made of roads having names is found in ancient Gaelic writings. Five great roads, as will be seen by the annexed map, led from Tara to the extremities of the Island. The Slighe Dala went southward; the Slighe Asail went north-west; the Slighe Midhluchra, went north-east; the Slighe Cualann went south-easterly; and the Slighe Mor went in a south-western direction. Traces of those roads may still be seen by the practised eye of the archaeologist.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

27. Founding of Holycross Abbey for a relic of the True Cross

    Holycross · townland · Tipperary · 1182–1208

    Holycross Abbey, thought to be the second largest ancient church in Ireland after Mellifont, was founded around 1182-1208 by Donagh Cairbreach O'Brian, King of Munster, after he obtained what was believed to be a fragment of the True Cross.

    Read the passage

    The situation of this abbey, like most places of its kind in Ireland, is very beautiful--on the banks of the gentle-flowing Suir, and surrounded by a fine fertile country. Holycross is thought to have been, with the exception of Mellifont, the largest of the ancient churches of Ireland. There is some doubt as to the exact time of its foundation--some authorities say the year 1182, and others 1208. The probability is that both dates may, in a certain sense, be correct. It may have been begun to be built in 1182, and may not have been finished before 1208. Although founded after the Anglo-French invasion, it was a purely Irish institution, for all authorities say that it was founded by Donagh Cairbreach O'Brian, King of Munster, and that it was founded on account of his having obtained what was believed to be a piece of the cross on which Christ suffered. It is called in Irish annals _Mainister na croiche naoimhe_, or Monastery of the Holy Cross. This relic is said, on good authority, to be at present in the keeping of the nuns of the Presentation Order at Black Rock, near Cork. O'Brian, the founder of the Church, endowed it with a great tract of land, so that it was for many centuries one of the most important places of its kind, not only in the province of Munster, but in Ireland.

    [Illustration: HOLYCROSS ABBEY.]

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 15

28. King of Leinster carried off at Aillinn

    Knockaulin · street · Kildare · 942

    Continuing his circuit south-west from Dublin, Muircheartach proceeded to Aillinn and carried away the King of Leinster as one of his royal captives.

    Read the passage

    Muircheartach then proceeded south-west from Dublin to Aillinn, and carried away the King of Leinster. He then made for Cashel, where the King of Munster lived. But Callachan, that was his name, showed fight, and Muircheartach's men threw off their leather cloaks and prepared to stand by him. However, seeing that things were beginning to look serious, the King of Munster yielded and was carried away prisoner with a golden fetter on him. The leader of the Circuit then turned northwards into Connacht, and carried away the king of that province. So he had the four provincial kings in his power, and also the Danish King of Dublin. But he did them neither hurt nor harm, for he seems to have been in a good humour all the time he was "on circuit"; and we are told by his poet laureate that on their halts the soldiers amused themselves in many ways, especially by music and dancing, and he says--

    "Music we had on the plain and in our tents, Listening to its strains, we danced awhile; There, methinks, a heavy noise was made By the shaking of our hard cloaks."

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

    As the companion tells it

    Along here is Knockaulin, the old Aillinn. In the year 942, Muircheartach, coming south-west from Dublin, reached this place and carried away the King of Leinster as his prisoner. Aillinn was one stop on what is called his Circuit, a progress through the provinces in which he took the kings of them all. From here he made for Cashel, where the King of Munster, Callachan, showed fight. Muircheartach's men threw off their leather cloaks and stood by him. Callachan yielded and was carried away with a golden fetter on him. Then Muircheartach turned north into Connacht and took that king too. So he held the four provincial kings and the Danish King of Dublin in his power. He did them neither hurt nor harm. His poet laureate wrote that on their halts the soldiers amused themselves with music and dancing, and said,

29. Muckross Abbey built by the MacCarthys

    Muckross Abbey · ecclesiastical site · Kerry · 1340

    Muckross Abbey, near Killarney, is described as a venerable and imposing ruin, though smaller than English ruined shrines. It was built by one of the MacCarthys, chiefs of the district, in 1340.

    Read the passage

    There are ruins of the most interesting kind in Killarney. Muckross Abbey is not so large as some of the ruined shrines of England, but it is a venerable and imposing building. It was built by one of the MacCarthys, chiefs of the district, in 1340. Ross Castle is another imposing ruin. It is situated on a green promontory that juts into the lake. There is some doubt as to the exact time when it was erected, but it could hardly have been before the fourteenth century. The most interesting ruin near Killarney, and by far the most ancient, is the monastery on the supremely beautiful island of Inisfallan. It was founded by Saint Finian in the sixth century. It was there the yet unpublished "Annals of Inisfallan" were compiled. Hardly any of the walls of the old monastery remain. The arbutus and the hawthorn are growing where once were cloisters, and are fast completing the ruin of what was one of the first of the ancient churches that were erected in Ireland.

    TARA

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

30. Slieve League, the grandest cliff in Ireland

    Slieve League · mountain or mountain range · Donegal

    Slieve League rises two thousand feet almost perpendicularly from the sea, facing south-west into the fury of Atlantic gales, and forms the culmination of a six-mile range of cliffs from Carrigan Head to Teelin Head with a knife-edge summit.

    Read the passage

    We now approach the famous Slieve League, the grandest, the boldest, the steepest, if not the highest, of all the cliff barriers on the coasts of these islands, and one of the most remarkable in the known world. It can be seen from the shore near Sligo, rising almost perpendicularly from the sea. The cliff-mountains of Achill, colossal as they are, seem to shun the full fury of the western gales, for they face the north-west; but Slieve League looks almost due south-west, and thrusts itself out into the ocean as if to court the most tremendous shock of the Atlantic's billows. It forms the culminating point of a range of cliffs that are over six miles in extent, extending from Carrigan Head to Teelin Head, the lowest cliff of which is over seven hundred feet in height. Slieve League is two thousand feet high, and almost perpendicular. It is two hundred feet lower than the highest of the cliff-mountains of Achill, but it is bolder, nearer being perpendicular, grander, and more rugged than they. Those who have not been on the sea at the base of Slieve League cannot form a true idea of its awful grandeur. Its summit is almost as sharp as a knife blade; and he who could look from the jagged rocks that form its cone down on to the seething ocean under him without feeling giddy should have a steady head and strong nerves. Those who go from these islands to Norway in search of the sublime should first see this king Irish cliff-mountains, and know how grand and beautiful are the sights that may be seen at home.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 21

31. St Columba's Stone-Roofed Oratory at Kells

    Kells · town · Meath · 500–600

    The most ancient and interesting monument at Kells is a small stone-roofed church or oratory, only nineteen feet long, attributed to St Columba and dated to around the sixth century. It remains remarkably solid, its stones bound by grouting so firm that it survived destruction unlike the rest of the monastery.

    Read the passage

    There cannot be said to be any very ancient monuments of Christian times to be seen in Kells save a very fine round tower, the top of which is gone; a very ancient cross in the market-place, two in the churchyard, and a stone-roofed church or oratory. The last is the oldest and most interesting ancient monument in Kells. It is a small building, only nineteen feet long, fifteen broad, and twenty-five high. It is one of the most ancient edifices built with cement that exists in Ireland. Its foundation is attributed to St Columba; and it is considered to be at least of his time, or the middle of the sixth century. It is apparently as sound and as solid as it was the day it was built. Everything that could with any certainty be believed to have been part of the great monastery that was in Kells has disappeared. Its stones were probably taken to build the present church that stands near to where the monastery was. The stones of the ancient building that has been described would also probably have been used for some purpose if they could have been easily removed, but it is so solid, and the stones are so firmly bound together by grouting, that the labour of tearing it down deterred the vandals from destroying it.

    Kells was so often burned and so often plundered by the Northmen that it is a wonder how anything in it remains. According to the annals it was burned twenty-one times, and plundered seven times, before the twelfth century! Every vestige of the great castle, that was built either by Hugo de Lacy or John de Courcy, has disappeared. This castle must have been nearly as large as that of Trim, for it was built for the protection of some of the most valuable country conquered by the invaders. It is said that the monastery was in a ruined condition at the close of the twelfth century, and that de Lacy renovated it and richly endowed it.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 19

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Kells in Meath, the oldest and most interesting monument here is a small stone-roofed church or oratory, attributed to St Columba and dated to the middle of the sixth century. It is only nineteen feet long, fifteen broad, and twenty-five high, one of the most ancient edifices built with cement that exists in Ireland. Everything else that could be believed to have been part of the great monastery at Kells has disappeared. Its stones were probably taken to build the present church that stands near where the monastery was. The stones of this ancient oratory would also probably have been used for some purpose if they could have been easily removed. But it is so solid, and the stones so firmly bound together by grouting, that the labour of tearing it down deterred the vandals from destroying it. It is apparently as sound and as solid as it was the day it was built. Kells was so often burned and so often plundered by the Northmen that it is a wonder how anything in it remains. According to the annals it was burned twenty-one times, and plundered seven times, before the twelfth century. There are other ancient monuments to be seen: a fine round tower with the top gone, a very ancient cross in the market-place, and two in the churchyard. Every vestige of the great castle, built by either Hugo de Lacy or John de Courcy, has disappeared. It must have been nearly as large as Trim, built to protect some of the most valuable country conquered by the invaders. The monastery was in a ruined condition at the close of the twelfth century, and de Lacy renovated it and richly endowed it.

32. The razed grandeur of Mellifont Abbey

    Mellifont · townland · Louth

    Mellifont, likely the largest and most beautiful of Irish monasteries, was almost entirely levelled to its foundations, with only the baptistry and chapter house surviving. The author speculates its stones were carried away, since a nearby mill built about eighty years earlier contains few of them.

    Read the passage

    But in spite of the beauty of the glen in which the ruins are situated, and in spite of the beauty of what remains of the ruins themselves, no right-minded person, no matter what his creed or nationality may be, can look on Mellifont without being not only pained but shocked at the desolation that has been wrought upon it, and the traces of barbarism, hate, and vandalism that stare him in the face. Why such uprooting was done in Mellifont one can easily understand, but _how_ it was done is a puzzle. Here stood probably the largest and most beautiful of all Irish monasteries, but hardly a square foot of it remains overground, save the baptistry and chapter house. The walls have been levelled down to their very foundations. A building of such enormous size must have had high walls, but hardly a vestige of them remains. If they were blown up by gunpowder, the material of which they were made would remain, if it had not been carried away. Few traces of the walls are to be seen, consequently one must conclude that the greater part of the very stones of which they were built has been removed to some place of which no one now alive knows anything. A mill was built close by the river about eighty years ago, but it contains in its walls few, if any, of the stones of Mellifont. They had disappeared long before the erection of the mill. The spoilers of Mellifont were not satisfied by uprooting it, for they seem to have removed the greater part of the stones of which it was built. If Mellifont had not been so razed to the ground it would, even in its nakedness and desolation, be one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical ruins in Europe, and would attract a hundred visitors for the one it attracts now.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 11

33. The two round towers of Clonmacnois

    Clonmacnoise · townland · Offaly

    Clonmacnois has two round towers; the smaller is described as architecturally perfect and built at the same time as the oratory at its base, supporting Petrie's theory of a post-Christian origin. The larger tower, known as O'Ruarc's tower, is missing twenty to thirty feet from its top.

    Read the passage

    The two round towers are by far the most interesting and beautiful buildings in Clonmacnois. The larger one wants apparently twenty or thirty feet of the top; whether it was struck by lightning, or knocked off by cannon, no one seems to know. The smaller tower is as perfect as it was when its builder pronounced it finished a thousand years ago. No more beautiful piece of architecture in the way of a tower ever was erected. It seems to be absolute perfection. The most skilled modern artisan in stone could not find an imperfection in it. It is built entirely of cut stones. The roof or dome is made of lozenge-shaped stones, fitted so closely and finished so well that time and weather seem to have passed over it in vain, for it is, as far as can be seen from the ground at its base, as perfect as it ever was. Of all round towers in Ireland, it is the most beautiful and perfect. The larger tower seems to have been built of stones similar to those of the smaller one, but as it wants its top its beauty is almost entirely spoiled. What remains of it seems about as perfect in its architecture as human hands could make it. The smaller tower appears to afford positive proof of Petrie's theory as to the post-Christian origin of the Irish round towers, for it and the little church or oratory at its base, and out of which it rises, were evidently built at the same time, for the walls of both are actually in some places one. Like some few of the existing round towers (the one near Navan, for instance), the smaller one at Clonmacnois has no opening in the roof by which the sound of bells could be emitted, showing clearly that it could never have been erected solely for a belfry; for no matter how big a bell might be, its sound would not have been heard a hundred yards away, if rung under the windowless stone roof of this most perfect and beautiful of Irish round towers. That round towers were sometimes used as belfries seems very probable; but that their principal use, and the prime object for which they were erected, were to protect the clergy and the treasures of the churches from the marauding Northmen is the theory regarding them that is now most generally accepted.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 7

34. Tighearnach's Annal Entry on Cuchulainn's Death

    Castletown · townland · Louth

    The eleventh-century annalist Tighearnach is the only Irish annalist to record Cuchulainn, noting his death by Lughaidh and giving his age as twenty-seven when he died, having begun as a champion at age seven.

    Read the passage

    The existence of this fort is another collateral proof of the general truth of what has been called Irish bardic history. It says that Cuchulainn lived at Dundealgan, or Dundalk, and there his _dun_ is found. He can hardly be said to figure in what are generally known as Irish authentic annals. The "Annals of the Four Masters" do not mention him at all, although they do mention some of his contemporaries. Tighearnach, who lived in the eleventh century, is the only one of the Irish annalists who mentions him. His annals have not yet been translated or published; but the following passage occurs in them: "Death of Cuchulainn, the most renowned champion of Ireland, by Lughaidh, the son of Cairbre Niafer [chief king of Ireland]. He was seven years old when he began to be a champion, and seventeen when he fought in the Cattle Spoil of Cooley, and twenty-seven when he died." Tighearnach makes Cuchulainn and Virgil contemporary. He and Queen Meave are the two great central figures in the longest and greatest prose epic in the Irish language, the Tain Bo Cuailgne, or Cattle Spoil of Cooley, which Sir Samuel Ferguson has made familiar to the English reader in his poem, "The Foray of Meave."

    Cuchulainn is the Hercules of Irish romantic history; but in spite of all the fabulous tales of which he is the hero, there cannot be any doubt that he was an historic personage, that his dwelling-place was on the _dun_ that has been described, and that he lived shortly before the Christian era. The name Cuchulainn is a sobriquet; it means "the hound Culann." This Culann was chief smith to Connor, King of Ulster. He had a fierce dog that he used to let out every night to watch and guard his premises, which were in the vicinity of Emania, the palace of the Ulster kings. Cuchulainn, who was nephew to Connor, was going to some entertainment at his uncle's; but having been out later than usual, was attacked by Culann's fierce hound. He had no weapon with which to defend himself save his hurling ball; but he cast it with such force at the dog that he killed him on the spot. Culann complained to King Connor about the loss of his great watch dog, and Cuchulainn, who was then only a boy of eight or nine years old, said that he would act as watch dog for the smith and be Culann's hound, or dog. Whether he did so or not is left untold.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 20

35. Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman keep in Ireland

    Trim Castle · monument · Meath

    Trim Castle is described as the largest and most imposing Anglo-French defensive structure in Ireland, enclosing nearly three acres, with walls six feet thick. Its situation on the flat banks of the Boyne made it nearly impregnable before the invention of gunpowder.

    Read the passage

    Of all the buildings for defensive purposes that the Anglo-Normans, or, more correctly, the Anglo-French, ever raised in Ireland, the castle of Trim is the largest and most imposing. It has stood many a siege, and it seems that one wing of it has entirely disappeared; but what remains of it still is a gigantic structure. No other Anglo-French keep in Ireland had such an extensive _enceinte_. There cannot be much less than three acres of enclosed ground round it. The outworks have been, to a large extent, demolished, but enough of them remains to show that when the castle was in repair, when its outward defences were perfect, and before the invention of gunpowder, it could have defied the largest army that ever Irish king or chieftain led. The place chosen for the site of this castle is perfectly flat. It is not on a hill. Its builder seems to have known that its six feet thick walls would be impregnable to any army that could be brought against it, whether it was on a hill or in a hollow. Its situation is very fine on the banks of the Boyne, and in the centre of a country considered by many to be the richest land in Ireland.

    [Illustration: TRIM CASTLE.]

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 12

    As the companion tells it

    Right beside the road here is Trim Castle, the largest and most imposing defensive structure the Anglo-Normans ever raised in Ireland. It has stood many a siege, and one wing has entirely disappeared, but what remains is still a gigantic structure. The enclosed ground round it cannot be much less than three acres. The outworks have been largely demolished, but enough remains to show that when the castle was in repair and before the invention of gunpowder, it could have defied the largest army that any Irish king or chieftain ever led. The site is perfectly flat, not on a hill. Its builder seems to have known that walls six feet thick would be impregnable to any army that could be brought against it, whether it stood on a hill or in a hollow. Its situation is very fine on the banks of the Boyne, in the centre of a country considered by many to be the richest land in Ireland.

36. Trim's church as a place of miracles, an 'Irish Lourdes'

    Trim · town · Meath

    The church of Trim was believed to contain an image or picture of the Virgin at which many extraordinary miracles were performed, drawing the sick and suffering in multitudes during the middle ages.

    Read the passage

    The country round Trim is most interesting and full of ruined fanes. The church of Trim was believed to contain an image or picture of the Virgin, at which we are told many and extraordinary miracles were performed. Trim was a sort of Irish Lourdes in the middle ages, to which the sick and suffering used to go in multitudes. There was also the Abbey of Newtown, the ruins of which still stand on the banks of the Boyne close by Trim. It was founded in the year 1206 by Simon Rochefort, Bishop of Meath, the first Englishman that is known to have had so high an ecclesiastical position in Ireland after the invasion. The ruins of Bective Abbey are only a few miles up the river from Trim, in a beautiful situation on the banks of the "clear, bright Boyne," as the old Gaelic poets loved to call it. Bective was founded for the Cistercian order by O'Melachlinn, King of Meath, about the middle of the twelfth century. It is a beautiful ruin, and in a beautiful locality.

    There is, perhaps, no part of Ireland more interesting to the antiquarian, the historian, or the lover of rich landscapes than the valley of the Boyne. That little stream is the most historic waterway in Ireland. Its name occurs oftener in Irish history and legend than that of any other river. On its banks are to be seen the pre-historic tumuli of New Grange and Dowth, the oldest monuments of pre-historic civilisation that have yet been discovered on Irish soil. The Boyne may be said to be the river of Tara, for it flows almost at the foot of that hill so celebrated in Irish history, legend, and song.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 12

    As the companion tells it

    The road takes you through Trim, in Meath, a town whose country round is full of ruined fanes. The church of Trim was believed to contain an image or picture of the Virgin, at which many extraordinary miracles were performed. In the middle ages Trim was a sort of Irish Lourdes, and the sick and suffering used to go there in multitudes. Close by Trim, on the banks of the Boyne, stand the ruins of the Abbey of Newtown. It was founded in 1206 by Simon Rochefort, Bishop of Meath, the first Englishman known to have held so high an ecclesiastical position in Ireland after the invasion. A few miles up the river from Trim are the ruins of Bective Abbey, in a beautiful situation on the banks of what the old Gaelic poets loved to call the clear, bright Boyne. Bective was founded for the Cistercian order by O'Melachlinn, King of Meath, about the middle of the twelfth century. There is perhaps no part of Ireland more interesting to the antiquarian, the historian, or the lover of rich landscapes than the valley of the Boyne. That little stream is the most historic waterway in Ireland. Its name occurs oftener in Irish history and legend than that of any other river. On its banks are the pre-historic tumuli of New Grange and Dowth, the oldest monuments of pre-historic civilisation yet discovered on Irish soil. The Boyne may be said to be the river of Tara, for it flows almost at the foot of that hill so celebrated in Irish history, legend, and song.

37. A modern church and plantation defacing Tara's ancient monuments

    Tara · parish · Meath

    Part of the Hill of Tara was enclosed, planted with deal trees, and a church was erected on the track of some of the most ancient monuments, which the author considers an act of sacrilege that has interfered with the site's antique appearance.

    Read the passage

    It would be hard to find any other hill in Ireland so well adapted for a place of assembly or for the dwelling of a ruler as Tara. Uisneach, in Westmeath, is, perhaps, the only hill in Ireland that possesses all the advantages of Tara. In ancient times, when war was the rule and peace the exception, it was imperative that a stronghold should be on a height. Athens had its acropolis and so had Corinth. Tara had the advantage of extent as well as of height, and could be made a permanent dwelling-place as well as an acropolis, for there are fully a hundred acres on what may be called the summit of the hill. It is unfortunate that some of the hill has been enclosed, planted with deal trees, and a church erected on the very track of some of the most ancient monuments. This plantation and church have terribly interfered with the picturesqueness and antique look of Tara. Planting deal trees and erecting a modern church amid the hoariest monuments, and on the most historic spot of European soil, was little less than sacrilege. If there had been a proper national spirit, or a due veneration for their past among the Irish, they never would have allowed a church or any modern building to be erected on the most historic spot on Irish soil; and even now they ought to have the church removed, the wall torn down, and the plantation uprooted. All Greece would rise up in indignation were any one to erect a church or chapel amid the ruins of the Athenian Acropolis.

    [Illustration: MONUMENTS ON TARA HILL.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

38. Conflicting traditions of St Brigit's burial place

    near Downpatrick · town · Down

    The Annals of the Four Masters claim St Brigit was buried in Downpatrick in the same grave as St Patrick, but Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga states she and Bishop Conlaeth were buried on either side of the altar in the church of Kildare.

    Read the passage

    The "Annals of the Four Masters" say that St Brigit was buried in Downpatrick, in the same grave with St Patrick; but the learned editor and translator of their annals says that she and Bishop Conlaeth were buried, one on the right, and one on the left of the altar, in the church of Kildare, and he gives Colgan's great book, _Trias Thaumaturga_, as his authority, and no authority could be higher.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 8

39. Danish Fleet Burns Cork Before Clontarf

    Cork · city · Cork · 1012–1013

    A great fleet of Northmen arrived in Munster and burned Cork around 1012-1013 but was defeated by Cahall, son of Donnell. This fleet was unable to assist their countrymen at the subsequent battle of Clontarf.

    Read the passage

    The earliest notice of Cork that appears in Irish annals is in the still unpublished "Annals of Inisfallen," where it is stated, under the year 617, that "In this year died Fionnbarre, first bishop of Cork, at Cloyne. He was buried in his own church at Cork." Under the year 795, the following curious entry occurs in the same annals:--"In this year the Danes first appeared cruising on the coast [of Ireland] spying out the country. Their first attacks were on the ships of the Irish, which they plundered." The same annals say that Cork, Lismore, and Kill Molaise were plundered by the Danes in the year 832, and that in 839 they burned Cork; and that in 915 they plundered Cork, Lismore, and Aghabo. They also state that in 978 Cork was plundered twice, presumably by the Danes. The _Chronicon Scottorum_ says that Cork was also plundered by the Danes in 822. It was so often plundered by them that it is hardly to be wondered at that the annalists should not have been able to keep account of every time it was harried by the Northmen. But the Danes were not the only parties by whom the south of Ireland suffered, for we read in the Four Masters, that in the year 847 Flann, over-king of Ireland, for what reason does not appear, harried Munster from Killaloe to Cork. They say also that a great fleet of foreigners (Northmen) arrived in Munster in 1012 and burned Cork. They were, however, defeated by Cahall, son of Donnell. This fleet had evidently come to Cork for the purpose of making a diversion in the south of Ireland, so that the great Danish army, whose headquarters were in Dublin, and who contemplated the entire conquest of the country, should not have the men of Munster to oppose them. The Danish army that came to Cork in 1012 (the correct date seems to be 1013), were not able to give any assistance to their countrymen at the battle of Clontarf by making a diversion in Munster, for it would appear that they were wholly destroyed. There is no record in the Irish annals of the Danes making any attack on Cork after the battle of Clontarf.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 24

    As the companion tells it

    As you come through Cork, you are passing a city the Danes burned again and again. The earliest notice of Cork in the Irish annals is from 617, when Fionnbarre, first bishop of Cork, died at Cloyne and was buried in his own church at Cork. The Danes first appeared cruising the Irish coast in 795, spying out the country. Their first attacks were on Irish ships, which they plundered. Cork was plundered by the Danes in 822, again in 832 along with Lismore and Kill Molaise, and burned in 839. They plundered Cork, Lismore, and Aghabo in 915. Cork was plundered twice in 978. It was harried so often by the Northmen that the annalists could not keep account of every time. But the entry that matters here is the one the Four Masters give. A great fleet of Northmen arrived in Munster in 1012 and burned Cork. They were defeated by Cahall, son of Donnell. The correct date seems to be 1013. This fleet had come to make a diversion in the south of Ireland, so that the great Danish army, whose headquarters were in Dublin and who contemplated the entire conquest of the country, would not have the men of Munster to oppose them. The fleet that came to Cork was wholly destroyed. They were not able to give any assistance to their countrymen at the battle of Clontarf. After Clontarf, there is no record in the Irish annals of the Danes making any attack on Cork.

40. Danish Fleet First Occupies Dublin

    Dublin · city · Dublin · 836

    According to the Four Masters, a fleet of sixty ships of Northmen came to the Liffey in 836, marking the first occupation of Dublin by the Danes. The city is rarely mentioned in Irish annals before this Danish settlement.

    Read the passage

    We have no account of the first siege of Dublin by the Danes in 836. The annals merely say that a fleet of sixty ships of Northmen came to the Liffey, and that that was the first occupation of the city by them. The Irish captured and plundered Dublin a great many times, but do not appear to have ever tried to banish the Danes permanently out of it. It is probable that the Irish found them useful as carriers of merchandise to them from foreign countries; for seeing how often the city was captured and plundered by the Irish, it is incredible that they could not have held it had they chosen to do so. The Four Masters record its capture and plunder by the Irish in A.D. 942, 945, 988, and 998. In 994 Malachy II. sacked Dublin and carried off two Danish trophies, the ring of Tomar and the sword of Karl; and in 988 he besieged it for twenty days and twenty nights, captured it, and carried off an immense booty; and issued the famous edict, "Every Irishman that is in slavery and oppression in the country of the foreigners (Danes) let him go to his own country in peace and delight." But the Irish were not always lucky in their attacks on the Danes of Dublin, for in 917 Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by them, and his army defeated at Killmashogue, beyond Rathfarnham. He evidently intended to take Dublin from the south, because it was so well defended on the north by the Liffey. The battle usually known as the battle of Clontarf was not fought in the locality now called by that name, but between the Liffey and the Tolka. Where Amien Street is now was probably the very centre of the battle-field. Here it may not be out of place to make a remark on the curious fact that the Danes never made any serious attempt to conquer Ireland after the battle of Clontarf, although they were at the height of their power some six or eight years after by the terrible defeat they gave the Saxons at Ashington, in Essex, which gave Canute the crown of England. He thus became not only King of England, but was King of Denmark and Norway as well--the most powerful potentate in Christendom in his time. It is strange that historians have not taken any notice of this extraordinary fact. There was comparatively little fighting between the Irish and the Danes after the battle of Clontarf, although the foreign people held Dublin until the arrival of Strongbow, and made a very poor stand against him, for he captured the city with very little difficulty. Dublin has hardly suffered what could be called a siege since 988, when Malachy II. took it from the Danes. When Strongbow held it, the Irish under the wretched Roderick O'Connor marched a great army under its walls, and were going to take it; but before they began siege operations, and while they were amusing themselves by swimming in the Liffey, Strongbow sallied out on them and totally defeated them. That was the last serious attempt to besiege Dublin.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 22

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Dublin, you are moving through a city whose Danish story begins in 836, when the Four Masters record a fleet of 60 ships of Northmen coming to the Liffey. That was the first occupation of Dublin by the Danes. Before this, the Irish annals rarely mention the place at all. The Irish captured and plundered Dublin many times after that, but never seem to have tried to banish the Danes permanently. The Four Masters record Irish captures in 942, 945, 988 and 998. In 994 Malachy the Second sacked Dublin and carried off two Danish trophies, the ring of Tomar and the sword of Karl. In 988 he besieged it for 20 days and 20 nights, took it, and issued his edict that every Irishman held in slavery by the Danes should go home in peace. But the Irish were not always successful. In 917 Niall Glundubh, King of Ireland, was killed by the Danes and his army defeated at Killmashogue, beyond Rathfarnham. The battle of Clontarf was fought not where the modern name is, but between the Liffey and the Tolka, with Amien Street at its centre. After Clontarf the Danes never made a serious attempt to conquer Ireland, though they held Dublin until Strongbow arrived and took the city with little difficulty.

41. Foundation and history of Boyle Abbey

    Boyle Abbey · monument · Roscommon · 1161–1603

    Boyle Abbey was founded in 1161 by Maurice O'Duffy as an offshoot of Mellifont Abbey in County Louth, both belonging to the Cistercian order. Its church was consecrated in 1220, it is mentioned by the Four Masters from 1174 to 1602, and it was granted to Sir John King in 1603.

    Read the passage

    The ancient name of Boyle was _Ath da laarg_, that is, the "ford of two forks." It is not easy to understand why such a curious name should have been given to it, for the river at Boyle, even in time of floods, is fordable, and has usually not over six or eight inches of water in it. It has, however, been proved that the rivers of Ireland, and probably of most other countries, had much more water in them in ancient times than at present. The other name for Boyle was _Buil_, whence Boyle. The word _Buil_ is entirely obsolete. It is supposed to mean handsome or beautiful. The Monastery, of which the ruins exist, was founded in 1161 by Maurice O'Duffy, a noted ecclesiastic of the period, but it is known that a smaller and more ancient monastery occupied the site on which the larger one was built at the date mentioned. Boyle Abbey was an offshoot of the great Abbey of Mellifont in the County Louth, that had been founded some twenty years before the Abbey of Boyle. Both abbeys belonged to the Cistercian order; and it would appear that so many monks flocked to Mellifont that accommodation could not be made for them all there, so the Abbey of Boyle was erected for them. The "Annals of Boyle," known also as the "Annals of Loch Ce, or Key," say that the Church of Boyle was consecrated in 1220; but that the church was built in 1161 there seems no reason to doubt. The Four Masters mention it under the year 1174. Their last mention of it is under the year 1602, and it must have been abandoned very soon after. It was granted to Sir John King in 1603, when it must have ceased to be a monastery.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 17

42. Founding of Mellifont Abbey

    Mellifont · townland · Louth · 1142

    Mellifont was founded in 1142 and richly endowed by O'Carrol, Prince of Oriel, for the Cistercian Order, and remained a Catholic religious establishment until the time of Elizabeth.

    Read the passage

    Mellifont was founded in 1142, and richly endowed by O'Carrol, Prince of Oriel. He was famed for his generosity and piety. The establishment was built for the Order of Cistercians. From the middle of the eleventh century to the middle of the twelfth was the time when most of the large abbeys and monasteries of Ireland were founded; and many of them, like that of Cong, were built in places that had long been occupied by smaller and plainer ecclesiastical structures like those remaining in Clonmacnois and Monasterboice. The _renaissance_ of Irish ecclesiastical architecture in the eleventh and twelfth centuries is, probably, attributable to two things--the cessation of Danish plundering and the conquest of England by the Norman-French. The Danish military power in Ireland got a blow at Clontarf from which it never recovered; after that battle there were comparatively few monasteries raided, and the Irish began to erect large and costly structures in place of the small and often severely plain churches of an earlier period. The Norman-French introduced into England what is called a Romanesque ecclesiastical architecture that was much superior to that of the Saxons; and it seems certain that the Irish copied, to a certain extent, the style of building adopted by the conquerors of the Saxons; but the invasion of Ireland by those same conquerors in the latter half of the twelfth century seems to have arrested the development, not only of architecture, but of almost everything that tended to benefit the country. Most of the great churches and abbeys of Ireland were erected before Strongbow set foot in it. It is strange and hard to be understood how it came to pass that, terrible as were the ravages of the Danes, they put no stop to the development of Art in Ireland. Monasteries would be raided and churches burned by them many times within a few years, but this seems not to have put a stop either to the establishment of monasteries or the building of churches. Lord Dunraven says, in his book on ancient Irish architecture, that "it is remarkable that the fearful struggle with the Norsemen, which lasted for over two hundred years, and ended in their final defeat in 1014 [at Clontarf] does not seem to have materially paralysed the energies of the Irish nation as regards their native arts." It is, however, certain that it was not until the military power of the Norseman was broken that ecclesiastical architecture became a real glory in Ireland. But the Anglo-French invasion seems to have put a stop, not only to the development of architecture, but of art of all kinds. It is a strange fact that the heathen Dane should have been less of a curse to Irish art than the Christian Englishman.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 11

43. Iona Abandoned After Repeated Danish Raids, Treasures Moved to Kells

    Kells · town · Meath · 800–899

    Iona, an Irish ecclesiastical establishment, was so often plundered by the Northmen with its population repeatedly killed that it had to be abandoned in the ninth century and became a ruin; its surviving treasures were removed to Kells.

    Read the passage

    Whatever benefit other countries may have received from the Danes or Northmen, Ireland received none. To her they were nothing but a curse. If they had conquered her, they might, in the long run, have benefitted her. It would be not only difficult, but absolutely impossible, to point out a single way, except, perhaps, by an admixture of a little new blood, in which Ireland was benefitted by the visits of the Northmen. In spite of their very great skill in ship-building and navigation, they introduced not a single art into Ireland. Confused as the political state of the country was before they came to it, it was still more confused when they ceased to be plunderers and became merchants. They had nothing themselves that could be called literature, and were the greatest enemies that Irish literature had ever encountered, for the number of books they must have destroyed is beyond calculation. Not a monastery or church from one end of Ireland to the other escaped being plundered by them, and most of the monasteries were plundered _ten times_ during the two hundred years their plunderings lasted. Iona, though not in Ireland, was an Irish establishment; it was so often plundered by them, and its entire population so often killed, that it had to be entirely abandoned in the ninth century. It became a ruin, and remained such until the Northmen ceased their raids; its treasures, or what remained of them, were removed to Kells in Ireland. Nothing can show more plainly the knowledge the Northmen possessed of the country, and their determination to leave nothing in it unplundered, than their having plundered the anchorites' cells on the Skelligs rocks, off the coast of Kerry. It is said that there is but one spot at which a boat can land on these rocks, and then only on the very finest and calmest day; but the Northmen found out the landing-place, plundered the cells, and, of course, killed every one they found in them.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 24

    As the companion tells it

    Up ahead is Kells, the town in Meath. This is where treasures from Iona found refuge in the ninth century. Whatever benefit other countries may have received from the Danes or Northmen, Ireland received none. To her they were nothing but a curse. It would be not only difficult, but absolutely impossible, to point out a single way in which Ireland was benefited by the visits of the Northmen. In spite of their very great skill in ship-building and navigation, they introduced not a single art into Ireland. They had nothing themselves that could be called literature, and were the greatest enemies that Irish literature had ever encountered, for the number of books they must have destroyed is beyond calculation. Not a monastery or church from one end of Ireland to the other escaped being plundered by them, and most of the monasteries were plundered ten times during the two hundred years their plunderings lasted. Iona, though not in Ireland, was an Irish establishment. It was so often plundered by them, and its entire population so often killed, that it had to be entirely abandoned in the ninth century. It became a ruin, and remained such until the Northmen ceased their raids. Its treasures, or what remained of them, were removed to Kells in Ireland. Nothing can show more plainly the determination of the Northmen to leave nothing unplundered than their having plundered the anchorites' cells on the Skelligs rocks, off the coast of Kerry. There is but one spot at which a boat can land on those rocks, and then only on the finest and calmest day, but the Northmen found out that landing-place, plundered the cells, and killed every one they found in them.

44. Modern uprooting of Emania's earthworks by farming

    near Navan · monument · Armagh

    Unlike Tara, which survived as grazing land, the agricultural country around Emania has been farmed by small landowners who have levelled most of the great circular embankments and filled in the deep fosse, so potatoes and corn now grow inside the ancient fortress.

    Read the passage

    None of the ancient palaces or great _duns_ of ancient Ireland shows such utter desolation, or bears evidence of having been so uprooted as does Emania. The great fosse by which it was once surrounded is entirely obliterated save on the west side, where it is nearly twenty feet in depth. Much as Tara has been obliterated, its monuments are more easily traced than are those of Emania. The county Meath seems to have been a grazing country almost from time immemorial. This saved Tara from being entirely uprooted; but the country round this ancient seat of the Ulster kings is essentially agricultural; it is mostly in the possession of small farmers owning from ten to twenty acres; consequently they have levelled most of the great circular embankments that formerly enclosed an area of nearly a dozen acres, and have filled up most of the deep fosse which, if we can judge by the small part of it that still remains, must have been, when Emania was in its glory, between twenty and thirty feet deep. So potatoes are growing and corn is waving over a large extent of the inside of the fortress, where vast wooden buildings once stood, and where mirth and revelry and clash of arms once resounded.

    Mons. Darbois de Jubainville, the eminent French archaeologist and Celtic scholar, made an exhaustive examination of Emania some years ago. He found that the area within the original enclosure was four and a half hectares, or between eleven and twelve English acres in extent, and that the space enclosed was nearly circular. Like Tara, the buildings in Emania must have been almost entirely of wood. Some of them may, like many of the wooden houses in America, have been built on stone foundations, and there are some traces of stone-work still to be seen. There is a magnificent passage in the Feilere of Oengus the Culdee, written about A.D. 800, in which the greatness and glory of the Christian cities of Ireland are contrasted with the state of utter desolation into which the strongholds of the Pagan kings had fallen. Speaking of Emania he says--

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 4

45. Prehistoric tumuli of New Grange and Dowth on the Boyne

    Newgrange · townland · Meath

    On the banks of the Boyne can be seen the pre-historic tumuli of New Grange and Dowth, described as the oldest monuments of pre-historic civilisation yet discovered on Irish soil.

    Read the passage

    There is, perhaps, no part of Ireland more interesting to the antiquarian, the historian, or the lover of rich landscapes than the valley of the Boyne. That little stream is the most historic waterway in Ireland. Its name occurs oftener in Irish history and legend than that of any other river. On its banks are to be seen the pre-historic tumuli of New Grange and Dowth, the oldest monuments of pre-historic civilisation that have yet been discovered on Irish soil. The Boyne may be said to be the river of Tara, for it flows almost at the foot of that hill so celebrated in Irish history, legend, and song.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 12

46. The unique riverside setting of Clonmacnois

    Clonmacnoise · townland · Offaly

    Clonmacnois is described as situated on a sandy knoll overlooking the winding Shannon amid vast callow meadows, a site the author finds stranger and weirder than any other in Ireland. Ancient ecclesiastics favored such wild, beautiful locations for their most cherished buildings.

    Read the passage

    The ruins of Clonmacnois form by far the most interesting architectural remains on the Shannon. Their situation is unique--on a sandy knoll overlooking the winding river, as it flows in great reaches among marshy meadows of apparently illimitable extent. Thousands of acres of them on both banks of the Shannon are spread before one's gaze when standing at the base of any of the ruined shrines of this ancient seat of piety and learning. The ecclesiastics of ancient Ireland seem to have been gifted with an extraordinary amount of appreciation for the beautiful and unique in nature. The wilder and the more beautiful a place was, the more it seems to have attracted them. Cashel's solitary Rock, Glendaloch's gloomy vale, and this barren sandhill overlooking the most peculiar scenery in all the island, were the places in which they reared their most cherished fanes and most beautiful buildings. The situation of Clonmacnois cannot be said to be beautiful, but it is strange and weird to the last degree--more strange and weird, perhaps, than any other place in Ireland.

    The best and most agreeable way to reach Clonmacnois is from Athlone. It is twelve English miles from Athlone by road, and ten by river. By river is not only the cheapest way but the most interesting. Sails can be used on this part of the Shannon almost as well as on Loch Ree, for the banks are so low that every breeze that blows can be fully utilised; and the river is so crooked, that no matter from what quarter the wind comes it can sometimes fill the sail. The Shannon here is no tiny stream like the Liffey, but a wide river, never less than from 150 to 200 yards in breadth, and generally deep enough to float a small ocean steamer. The current is, however, not rapid.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 7

47. A new round tower defaces the Rock of Cashel

    Cashel · townland · Tipperary

    A modern round tower was erected by a Mr Scully near the ancient monuments on the Rock of Cashel, which the author considers a profanation of the historic and beautiful ruins.

    Read the passage

    It is strange that Cashel has not inspired more poets; but it is stranger still that the once soulful people of Ireland would have allowed it to be defaced by any modern building erected on the rock on which stands its hallowed and ruined piles. Some gentleman named Scully has erected a brand new round tower almost in the very centre of the hoary monuments that are so sanctified by antiquity. The new tower is not shown on the annexed plate, because of the horrible picture it would make. It is strange that those living near Cashel did not prevent, if they could have done so, the marring of one of the most striking, beautiful and soul-inspiring ruins not only in Ireland but in Europe. It may be that Mr Scully thought that by erecting a new monument of antique type there would not be any incongruity manifested by it, and that by having his name written on it in the Irish language and in Irish characters he would atone for the error he committed. If he thought so, he made a great mistake, for _anything_ new, whether a round tower, a cross, or a brick-built grocery, would destroy all the antique charm of such noble ruins as those on the rock of Cashel. It may be willingly granted that it is a pity there are any ruins at all in the world, and that buildings cannot last new for ever. It should be remembered, however, that nothing can last always; and that when buildings become ruined by time, and, above all, when they have become historic like those on the rock of Cashel, and when they serve to show either the piety or the civilisation of those who have passed away, it becomes absolute barbarism to mar them and mock them by erecting _anything_ new in their immediate vicinity. A modern church on the Hill of Tara is bad enough, but a new building on the Rock of Cashel is little else than a profanation.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here on the Rock of Cashel, a gentleman named Scully has erected a brand new round tower almost in the very centre of the ancient ruined monuments. The author of Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland calls it little else than a profanation. He says the new tower is not even shown on the plate in his book, because of the horrible picture it would make. The author finds it strange that the people living near Cashel did not prevent the marring of what he calls one of the most striking, beautiful and soul-inspiring ruins not only in Ireland but in Europe. He suggests Mr Scully may have thought that by having his name written on the tower in the Irish language and in Irish characters he would atone for the error. But the author says he made a great mistake, for "anything new, whether a round tower, a cross, or a brick-built grocery, would destroy all the antique charm of such noble ruins." The author argues that when buildings have become historic like those on the rock of Cashel, and serve to show the piety or civilisation of those who have passed away, it becomes absolute barbarism to mar them by erecting anything new in their immediate vicinity. He compares it to a modern church on the Hill of Tara, which he says is bad enough, but a new building on the Rock of Cashel is worse.

48. Danes Repeatedly Plunder and Burn Cork

    Cork · city · Cork · 822–978

    Irish annals record that Cork was plundered by the Danes on numerous occasions, including 822, 832 (with Lismore and Kill Molaise), burned in 839, plundered again with Lismore and Aghabo in 915, and plundered twice in 978.

    Read the passage

    The earliest notice of Cork that appears in Irish annals is in the still unpublished "Annals of Inisfallen," where it is stated, under the year 617, that "In this year died Fionnbarre, first bishop of Cork, at Cloyne. He was buried in his own church at Cork." Under the year 795, the following curious entry occurs in the same annals:--"In this year the Danes first appeared cruising on the coast [of Ireland] spying out the country. Their first attacks were on the ships of the Irish, which they plundered." The same annals say that Cork, Lismore, and Kill Molaise were plundered by the Danes in the year 832, and that in 839 they burned Cork; and that in 915 they plundered Cork, Lismore, and Aghabo. They also state that in 978 Cork was plundered twice, presumably by the Danes. The _Chronicon Scottorum_ says that Cork was also plundered by the Danes in 822. It was so often plundered by them that it is hardly to be wondered at that the annalists should not have been able to keep account of every time it was harried by the Northmen. But the Danes were not the only parties by whom the south of Ireland suffered, for we read in the Four Masters, that in the year 847 Flann, over-king of Ireland, for what reason does not appear, harried Munster from Killaloe to Cork. They say also that a great fleet of foreigners (Northmen) arrived in Munster in 1012 and burned Cork. They were, however, defeated by Cahall, son of Donnell. This fleet had evidently come to Cork for the purpose of making a diversion in the south of Ireland, so that the great Danish army, whose headquarters were in Dublin, and who contemplated the entire conquest of the country, should not have the men of Munster to oppose them. The Danish army that came to Cork in 1012 (the correct date seems to be 1013), were not able to give any assistance to their countrymen at the battle of Clontarf by making a diversion in Munster, for it would appear that they were wholly destroyed. There is no record in the Irish annals of the Danes making any attack on Cork after the battle of Clontarf.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 24

    As the companion tells it

    As you travel through Cork, you are passing through a city the Danish raiders struck again and again over two centuries. The Annals of Inisfallen note that the Danes first appeared cruising the Irish coast in 795, spying out the country, and their first attacks were on Irish ships. The Chronicon Scottorum says Cork was plundered by the Danes in 822. The Annals of Inisfallen record that in 832 Cork was plundered along with Lismore and Kill Molaise, and that in 839 they burned Cork. In 915 they plundered Cork, Lismore, and Aghabo. In 978, Cork was plundered twice, presumably by the Danes. It was so often plundered that the annalists could not keep account of every time it was harried by the Northmen. But the Danes were not the only threat. The Four Masters record that in 847 Flann, over-king of Ireland, for reasons unknown, harried Munster from Killaloe to Cork. A great fleet of Northmen arrived in Munster in 1012 and burned Cork, though they were defeated by Cahall, son of Donnell. That fleet had come to draw Munster's men away, so the great Danish army based in Dublin, which aimed to conquer the country, would face less opposition. The force that came to Cork in 1012, the correct date perhaps 1013, could give no help to their countrymen at the battle of Clontarf, for they appear to have been wholly destroyed. After Clontarf, the Irish annals record no further Danish attack on Cork.

49. Devenish plundered by Northmen

    Devenish · townland · Fermanagh · 836–1360

    The monastery on Devenish Island was plundered and burnt many times by Danes or other Northmen, with a near-devastation in 836 and further burnings in 1157 and 1360.

    Read the passage

    One of the most ancient of Ireland's ancient round towers stands on Devinish Island, in the upper lake. It is one of the most perfect, if it is not one of the highest, round towers in the country. There would be no use in speculating on its age, for we are generally left completely in the dark as to the time of the erection of round towers. There are many allusions to them in Irish annals, but the time of the building of them is mentioned only in a few places. The first mention of Devinish by the Four Masters is in A.D. 721, telling of the death of one of its abbots. Devinish, spelled correctly, _Daimhinis_, means "ox island." A Christian church was erected on it at a very early date, probably during the lifetime of St Patrick, for we are told in ancient Annals that Molaise, who appears to have been the first abbot of the monastery that was there, died in 563. A Latin life of St Aeden says that Molaise "ruled many monks in an island in _Stagno Erne_, called Daimhinis by the Irish." It was plundered and burnt many times by the Danes, or some other Northmen, but almost devastated by them in 836, and at other times; it was burnt in 1157 and in 1360. It seems, not like Glendaloch, Monasterboice, and many other places that were abandoned at an early date, to have had a church or monastery on it until the beginning of the seventeenth century. The last mention of it by the Four Masters is under the year 1602.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 10

50. Gold Ornaments Found at Tara

    near Tara · hill or hills · Meath

    Many valuable gold ornaments of antique design have been found in and around Tara, though most have been melted down rather than preserved, and few reached the Kildare Street Museum in Dublin.

    Read the passage

    Many valuable gold ornaments of antique and beautiful design and workmanship have been found in Tara and its immediate vicinity, but very few of them have found their way to the Kildare Street Museum in Dublin, one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, collection of ancient weapons, implements, and ornaments to be seen in Europe. Most of the gold ornaments found in Tara have been melted down. If one is to believe what the peasantry living in its vicinity say, the quantity of gold ornaments found there was very great. The famous Tara Brooch, preserved in the Dublin Museum, and considered the most beautiful piece of metallurgy, either ancient or modern, that is known to exist, was not found in Tara, but on the seashore about three miles from Drogheda, and nine or ten from this famous hill. It was found by an old woman, who is said to have sold it to a shopkeeper in Drogheda for ninepence. The Royal Irish Academy paid L500 for it. Many think that a regular, scientific exploration of Tara Hill ought to be made, such an exploration as Schlieman made of the site of Troy. If this were done under government surveillance, or by some responsible and skilled antiquarian, there is hardly a doubt but that many and precious ornaments in gold, and implements and weapons in bronze, would be found, especially the latter, for there seems every reason to believe that Tara was the seat of government long before iron was known, and long before the bronze age came to an end. It would, however, be a tremendous task to uproot several hundred acres merely on speculation. But the quantity of antique gold ornaments that has been found in Ireland was immense, more, it is thought by some, than has been found in all the rest of Europe. They are being found almost every year. Nearly L300 worth of golden fibulae was found in the County Waterford in 1894. They are now to be seen in the Dublin Museum.

    [Illustration: TARA BROOCH.]

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

51. Hugo de Lacy buried at Bective Abbey

    Bective Abbey · monument · Meath · 1186

    After his killing, Hugo de Lacy was buried in Bective Abbey, though his body was later removed to Dublin.

    Read the passage

    Hugo de Lacy was undoubtedly the greatest of the Anglo-French invaders of Ireland. Although he was killed, he was not killed for any other cause except that of his having been an invader; for in spite of his castle-building propensities, he was in no way prejudiced against the native Irish. This is proved by his having married a daughter of Roderick O'Connor, King of Connacht, and nominally, but only nominally, King of Ireland. For having done so, he was recalled from the nominal government of Ireland with which he had been entrusted by Henry the Second; but Henry, probably finding that he could not get anyone else so well fitted for the office, allowed him to retain it. But Hugo appears to have again given offence to Henry on account of his leniency to the Irish lords who were under him, and Prince John, who was afterwards King, was sent to Ireland by Henry because Hugo did not exact any tribute from the Irish. We are not told how he got out of this scrape, and he was killed the next year. He was buried in Bective Abbey, but his body was afterwards removed to Dublin. Hugo de Lacy seems to have been as friendly to the Irish as it was possible for one in his position to be, and it is almost certain that he cherished the hope of bringing the whole island under his rule and making himself King. It was evidently his ambition, of which Henry appears to have been fully aware, that caused the trouble between him and his master. That the Irish petty kings, and the Irish people of the time, would have accepted the rule of a stranger who had proved himself a strong man, is very probable, for the country was in the very deepest slough of political confusion and anarchy. Never, during the worst times of Danish plundering, had Ireland been in such a state of political chaos as she was in the twelfth century. The usurpation of the chief kingship by Brian Boramha was followed by a century and a half of revolution caused by those who aspired to be chief kings. O'Brians, O'Connors, O'Lochlainns, Mac Murroughs, all aspirants for the monarchy, made the island, as the Four Masters so graphically put it, "a shaking sod," and the Irish would have accepted the rule of anyone who would have saved them from themselves. It was the state of political chaos into which the country had fallen that accounts for the slight resistance that Strongbow met in Ireland. The Northmen were met by the sword, and fought for over two hundred years, until they were, if not entirely banished, at least reduced to political powerlessness; but a mere handful of invaders, whose military prowess was in no way superior to that of the Northmen, became, _de facto_, the rulers of the country in a few years after they had landed. It is more than probable that if Hugo de Lacy had lived, he would have risked a war with Henry, and have tried to make himself King of Ireland; and it is more than probable that the Irish would have willingly accepted his rule.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 12

    As the companion tells it

    Bective Abbey is right here beside the road. This is where Hugo de Lacy was buried after he was killed in 1186, though his body was later removed to Dublin. Hugo de Lacy was the greatest of the Anglo-French invaders of Ireland. He was killed for being an invader, but he was not prejudiced against the native Irish. He married a daughter of Roderick O'Connor, King of Connacht, who was nominally King of Ireland. For that marriage, Henry the Second recalled him from the government of Ireland, but Henry could not find anyone better suited, so he let Hugo keep the office. Then Hugo gave offence again through his leniency to the Irish lords under him. Prince John, who was afterwards King, was sent to Ireland because Hugo did not exact any tribute from the Irish. He was killed the next year and brought here to Bective. Hugo de Lacy was as friendly to the Irish as one in his position could be, and it is almost certain he hoped to bring the whole island under his rule and make himself King. Henry was fully aware of this ambition, and it caused the trouble between them. Ireland at the time was in deep political confusion and anarchy. Never, even during the worst of the Danish plundering, had the country been in such chaos as in the twelfth century. The usurpation of the chief kingship by Brian Boramha was followed by a century and a half of revolution. O'Brians, O'Connors, O'Lochlainns, Mac Murroughs, all aspirants for the monarchy, made the island, as the Four Masters put it, "a shaking sod." The Irish would have accepted the rule of anyone who would have saved them from themselves. If Hugo de Lacy had lived, he would likely have risked war with Henry and tried to make himself King of Ireland, and the Irish would probably have accepted him.

52. Kildare church cited as true burial site of Brigit and Conlaeth

    Kildare · town · Kildare

    Against the Downpatrick tradition, the editor of the Annals cites Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga as authority that Brigit and Bishop Conlaeth were buried one on each side of the altar in the church of Kildare.

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    The "Annals of the Four Masters" say that St Brigit was buried in Downpatrick, in the same grave with St Patrick; but the learned editor and translator of their annals says that she and Bishop Conlaeth were buried, one on the right, and one on the left of the altar, in the church of Kildare, and he gives Colgan's great book, _Trias Thaumaturga_, as his authority, and no authority could be higher.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 8

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Kildare, this is the town whose church the translator of the Annals of the Four Masters names as the true burial place of St Brigit. The Annals themselves say she lies in Downpatrick, in the same grave as St Patrick. But their learned editor says she and Bishop Conlaeth were buried one on each side of the altar here in Kildare, citing Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga, and no authority could be higher.

53. Limerick Held by Danes, Retaken by Brian Boramha

    Limerick · city · Limerick · 970–1190

    Limerick was held by the Danes for nearly a hundred years until Brian Boramha took it from them about 970. It continued to prosper under his descendants and was called a 'magnificent city' by Giraldus Cambrensis around 1190, though by then it had begun to decline.

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    Cork, unfortunately, is not growing as Dublin and Belfast are. There is a curious belief, partly a prophecy, that it will yet be the capital of Ireland. "Limerick was, Dublin is, but Cork will be the capital," is frequently heard in the south of Ireland. So far, there is not much sign that the southern city will overtake Dublin, nor is it quite clear that Limerick was ever the principal city of Ireland. It was, however, a very important place during the greater part of the eleventh century. Limerick seems to have been in the possession of the Danes for nearly a hundred years, until Brian Boramha took it from them about the year 970. It continued to grow as long as his descendants retained political power, which they did for nearly a century after his death. Giraldus Cambrensis calls Limerick "a magnificent city," but it must have begun to decline even before he saw it, about the year 1190, for the O'Briens, or descendants of Brian Boramha, had by that time lost a great deal of their political power. Cork has, for at least two centuries, been a more important place than Limerick.

    Some of the streets and public buildings in Cork are very fine, and will compare favourably with those of any city. But it is evident that the city was built too far up the river. Cork should be where Queenstown is. If it were, there would be a chance of its becoming at some future day the capital of Ireland. It is curious that almost all cities that are built on rivers, and that were founded in ancient times, are generally at the head of navigation. This habit of building cities as far up rivers as ships could go was followed in order to give greater security from attacks by sea. The farther up a river a city was, the more easily it could be defended from attacks by sea. In olden times, when the largest ships drew no more than eight or ten feet of water, Cork was as advantageously situated for trade where it is as if it were where Queenstown is. But such is not the case now. This defect of being too far up the river is the only thing in its situation that is not favourable. It has one of the finest harbours in Europe, and one of the finest in the world, but the harbour is too far from the city.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 24

    As the companion tells it

    You are coming through Limerick now. There is a saying often heard in the south of Ireland: "Limerick was, Dublin is, but Cork will be the capital." It is not quite clear that Limerick was ever the principal city of Ireland, but it was a very important place during the greater part of the eleventh century. The Danes held Limerick for nearly a hundred years until Brian Boramha took it from them about the year 970. It continued to grow as long as his descendants retained political power, which they did for nearly a century after his death. Giraldus Cambrensis calls Limerick "a magnificent city," but it must have begun to decline even before he saw it, about the year 1190, for the O'Briens, the descendants of Brian Boramha, had by that time lost a great deal of their political power. Cork has, for at least two centuries, been a more important place than Limerick, though so far there is not much sign that Cork will overtake Dublin. The prophecy is heard often in the south, but Dublin's position seems secure. In ancient times, cities built on rivers were generally placed at the head of navigation, where ships could go no farther, because the farther up a river a city stood, the more easily it could be defended from attacks by sea. When the largest ships drew no more than 8 or 10 feet of water, such a position was as good for trade as one lower down the river. But as ships grew larger, cities built too far up their rivers lost that advantage.

54. Monument to Elizabeth FitzGerald at Holycross

    Holycross · townland · Tipperary · 1400

    A sepulchral monument at Holycross Abbey erected to the memory of Elizabeth, daughter of Gerald, Earl of Kildare, who died around 1400, is considered one of the most chaste and beautiful funerary monuments of its kind in Ireland.

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    The sepulchral monument that was erected to the memory of Elizabeth, daughter of Gerald, Earl of Kildare, who died about the year 1400, is considered one of the most chaste, remarkable, and beautiful things of its kind in Ireland. If nothing remained of Holycross but this remarkable monument, it would be well worth a visit.

    There is not so much historical interest connected with Holycross as there is with smaller establishments of its kind throughout Ireland. It was founded too late to be plundered by the Danes, and in all the troublesome times between its foundation and the time when it was abandoned, it does not seem to have been plundered or burned, neither do the vandals seem to have damaged or defaced it much. It is a beautiful and impressive ruin that will for a long time to come attract the notice of lovers of the abandoned fanes that are to be found in almost every parish of Ireland--the land that is richer in ruins than perhaps any other country in the world, Egypt alone excepted.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 15

55. Relig na Riogh, cemetery of kings

    near Rathcroghan · monument · Roscommon

    About half a mile from Meave's palace platform lies Relig na Riogh, a circular enclosure covering two to three acres that was one of the great burial places of the Pagan Irish Kings, including Queen Meave herself and King Dathi.

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    Rathcroghan does not appear to have been a place of residence of any of the rulers of Connacht since the time of the celebrated Queen Meave. If it was, the writer has not been able to find trustworthy evidence of the fact. It may, however, have been used as a place for assemblies in comparatively recent times. _Relig na Riogh_, or the cemetery of kings, at Rathcroghan, was one of the great burial places of the Pagan Irish Kings. It is a circular enclosure, about half a mile from the platform on which Queen Meave's palace stood. It bears all the marks of extreme antiquity, and has suffered much from the ravages of time. It covers between two and three acres, and at first sight appears nothing more than a piece of ground of very broken surface, for the mounds that marked the graves of kings and chiefs have become nearly obliterated. But it was here that many of the kings and heroes of ancient Ireland were buried, and it is here that the bones of Queen Meave rest, that is, if we are to believe the most trustworthy records of Irish history. It is thought by some that she was buried under the vast cairn of stones that crowns the summit of Knocknarea, near Sligo, for it is called to this day _Moisgan Meabha_, literally Meave's butter-dish; but by extension it probably means Meave's heap or cairn. There is no historic evidence to prove that she was interred under the cairn on Knocknarea, however it came to be called by its present Irish name; and according to the late Sir Samuel Ferguson, her name, or a name closely resembling it, has been found written in Ogam characters on a stone in _Reilig na Riogh_.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 5

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere about Rathcroghan lies Relig na Riogh, the cemetery of kings, one of the great burial places of the Pagan Irish. It is a circular enclosure, about half a mile from the platform on which Queen Meave's palace stood, and it covers between two and three acres. It bears all the marks of extreme antiquity, and has suffered much from the ravages of time. At first sight it appears nothing more than a piece of ground of very broken surface, for the mounds that marked the graves of kings and chiefs have become nearly obliterated. But it was here that many of the kings and heroes of ancient Ireland were buried. The bones of Queen Meave rest here, that is, if we are to believe the most trustworthy records of Irish history. Some think she was buried under the vast cairn of stones that crowns the summit of Knocknarea, near Sligo. It is called to this day Moisgan Meabha, literally Meave's butter-dish, but by extension it probably means Meave's heap or cairn. There is no historic evidence to prove she was interred under the cairn on Knocknarea, however it came to be called by its present Irish name. And according to the late Sir Samuel Ferguson, her name, or a name closely resembling it, has been found written in Ogam characters on a stone in Relig na Riogh. Rathcroghan itself does not appear to have been a place of residence of any of the rulers of Connacht since the time of Queen Meave. It may, however, have been used as a place for assemblies in comparatively recent times.

56. Ross Castle, an imposing ruin on the lake

    Ross Castle · castle · Kerry · 1300–1399

    Ross Castle stands on a green promontory jutting into the lake at Killarney. Its exact date of construction is uncertain, but it could hardly have been built before the fourteenth century.

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    There are ruins of the most interesting kind in Killarney. Muckross Abbey is not so large as some of the ruined shrines of England, but it is a venerable and imposing building. It was built by one of the MacCarthys, chiefs of the district, in 1340. Ross Castle is another imposing ruin. It is situated on a green promontory that juts into the lake. There is some doubt as to the exact time when it was erected, but it could hardly have been before the fourteenth century. The most interesting ruin near Killarney, and by far the most ancient, is the monastery on the supremely beautiful island of Inisfallan. It was founded by Saint Finian in the sixth century. It was there the yet unpublished "Annals of Inisfallan" were compiled. Hardly any of the walls of the old monastery remain. The arbutus and the hawthorn are growing where once were cloisters, and are fast completing the ruin of what was one of the first of the ancient churches that were erected in Ireland.

    TARA

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 3

57. Round tower and cathedral on the Rock of Cashel

    Cashel · townland · Tipperary · 900–1400

    The oldest surviving building on the Rock is the original round tower, ninety feet high and probably built in the ninth century; the ruined cathedral, though traditionally dated to 1169, appears architecturally to be no older than the fourteenth century.

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    Cashel became a seat of Christian cult at a very early period, and there are good reasons to think that St Patrick founded a church there. The Rock of Cashel has for very many centuries been known as _Carraig Phadraig_, or Patrick's Rock. The first Christian Irishman whose writings have come down to us was Dubhthach, or, as the name would probably now be Anglicised, Duffy, Mac U Lugair. In his poem in praise of the prowess of Leinstermen, he says, that they "unyoked their horses on the ramparts of clerical Cashel." As this Duffy was a disciple of St Patrick's, and one of the first converts made by him in Ireland, we are forced to think that one of the first Christian churches ever erected in Ireland was the one erected in Cashel, as it appears to have been in existence when Duffy wrote his poem, which could hardly have been later than the middle of the sixth century. But no vestige of the church of St Patrick's time remains. It was probably a wooden building, and may have disappeared as far back as thirteen centuries ago. The oldest building on the Rock of Cashel is the round tower, not Mr Scully's incongruous edifice, but the original one, built probably in the ninth century. It is ninety feet high, and in a fairly good state of preservation. The cathedral is thought to have been built in 1169 by O'Brien, King of Munster, but there does not appear to be much of the building he erected to be seen now, for the ruined cathedral which exists cannot, from the style of its architecture, be older than the fourteenth century. We know from authentic history that one of the Fitzgeralds burned the cathedral in 1495, because he wanted to burn Archbishop Creagh, who, he thought, was in it; but it does not seem to be fully known whether the building was entirely or only partially destroyed by Fitzgerald. Divine service is said to have been celebrated in it so late as 1752, but it must have been in a semi-ruined condition even then.

    [Illustration: INTERIOR OF CORMAC'S CHAPEL.]

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 9

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here on the Rock of Cashel you have the oldest surviving building, the round tower, probably built in the 9th century and still standing 90 feet high. Cashel became a seat of Christian worship very early, and there are good reasons to think St Patrick founded a church there. The rock has for centuries been known as Carraig Phadraig, Patrick's Rock. Duffy Mac U Lugair, a disciple of St Patrick and one of his first converts in Ireland, wrote in a poem that Leinstermen "unyoked their horses on the ramparts of clerical Cashel," which suggests a church existed there by the middle of the 6th century. But no vestige of Patrick's church remains; it was probably wooden and may have vanished 13 centuries ago. The cathedral is traditionally said to have been built in 1169 by O'Brien, King of Munster, but little of his building survives. The ruined cathedral standing today cannot, from its architectural style, be older than the 14th century. We do know from authentic history that one of the Fitzgeralds burned the cathedral in 1495, because he wanted to burn Archbishop Creagh, who he thought was inside. It is not fully known whether the building was entirely or only partially destroyed. Divine service was said to have been celebrated in it as late as 1752, though it must have been semi-ruined even then.

58. The Battle of Garristown destroys Finn's militia

    Garristown · townland · Dublin · 290–296

    A great battle was fought at Garristown in County Dublin around 290 or 296, in which the chief king Cairbre and the provincial rulers, except the King of Leinster, crushed and totally destroyed the militia commanded by Finn's line.

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    The militia of which Finn was the Commander-in-Chief, and of which his father and grandfather had also been commanders, are the heroes of hundreds of Ossianic tales and poems. It would appear that they numbered twenty-one thousand men on a peace footing, but could raise their numbers to double that amount in time of need. They became so extortionate and arrogant in the long run, that the chief king, Cairbre, and it would seem all the provincial rulers except the King of Leinster, determined to crush them. So a great battle was fought at Garristown in the County Dublin in the year 290 or 296, and the militia of Finn was totally destroyed. It would seem that neither Knock Aillinn nor the hill of Allen has been since then inhabited.

    It may not be out of place to state here that students of Gaelic are often puzzled on seeing the name of Finn spelt _Fionn_. It seems certain that _Finn_ is the proper orthography. The name is invariably so spelt in all cases in the "Book of Leinster," one of the most correct of all the great Gaelic books; but the editor of "Silva Gadelica" makes it _Fionn_ in all cases except in the genitive. It is difficult to understand why, when copying from a manuscript of such high authority as the "Book of Leinster," he did not follow its orthography. In the northern half of Ireland the name is pronounced according to its correct orthography, but in the south of Ireland it is pronounced as if written _Fyun_.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 8

59. The cairn atop Knocknarea

    near Knocknarea · mountain or mountain range · Sligo

    Near Sligo town stands an immense cairn on top of Knocknarea, sixteen hundred feet above sea level, one of several great cairns in the vicinity that give the area exceptional archaeological interest.

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    The country in the vicinity of Sligo is one of the most interesting and beautiful in Ireland. Close to it is the famous Loch Gill, the queen of the fresh water lakes of Connacht. It is so near the coast that it is not improper to say something about it in treating of the scenery of the coast. It is connected with the sea by a river only a few miles in length that passes through the town of Sligo, consequently it is only three or four miles in a direct line from the sea. There is no other large fresh water lake in Ireland, except Loch Corrib, so near the sea as Loch Gill. It is fully ten miles in extreme length, and from three to four in breadth. Its shores cannot be said to be mountainous, but the hills around it are so bold, and their lower parts are so well wooded, that Loch Gill, in spite of its having comparatively few islands, is yet one of the most beautiful lakes in Ireland, and no one in search of the beautiful should omit to see it. There is no other town in Ireland that has more objects of scenic and archaeological interest in its vicinity than Sligo. There is the immense cairn on top of Knocknarea, sixteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. There are four or five other immense cairns close to the town, and there is the extraordinary mountain of Ben Bulben, anciently Ben Gulban, that is shaped like a gigantic rick of turf. It is a couple of miles long, and some sixteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. Its summit is perfectly flat. It can be ascended in a carriage from the south side; but on the north side, facing the sea, it is not only perpendicular, but overhangs its base in some places. If not the highest or most beautiful mountain in Ireland, it is certainly the most extraordinary.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 21

    As the companion tells it

    The mountain coming up is Knocknarea, and up on its summit sits an immense cairn, sixteen hundred feet above sea level. It is one of four or five great cairns clustered near Sligo town, and they give this country an unusual weight of archaeological interest. The writer of Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland calls this vicinity one of the most interesting in Ireland, rich in scenic and ancient wonders. Loch Gill lies close by, connected to the sea by a river running through Sligo, ten miles long and three to four broad, with bold wooded hills along its shores. Ben Bulben rises nearby too, shaped like a gigantic rick of turf, flat-topped and sixteen hundred feet high, overhanging its base on the north side. But the cairn on Knocknarea is what draws the eye, standing as it does on the mountain's crown. The writer notes that no other town in Ireland has more objects of scenic and archaeological interest in its vicinity than Sligo. The great pile of stone up there has watched over this landscape for longer than recorded memory, and it keeps its silence still.

60. The leaning round tower of Monasterboice

    Monasterboice · townland · Louth

    The round tower at Monasterboice, one of the finest in Ireland at 110 feet remaining after lightning broke its top, is uniquely non-perpendicular, having been skilfully corrected by its builders mid-construction when the foundation began to settle.

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    The round tower of Monasterboice is one of the finest in Ireland. Its top has been broken off by lightning, but what remains of it is 110 feet in height. It must have been at least 130 feet high when perfect, which would make it one of the highest of the round towers of Ireland. The mason work is of the very best kind, although the stones are uncut, and were evidently found in the immediate neighbourhood of the tower. There is a peculiarity about this tower which is not to be seen in any other structure of the same kind--it is not quite perpendicular. The author of the great book on ancient Irish architecture, already referred to, says that "it leans to one side on the north-west, and has a very peculiar curve. Where the curve commences a distinct change of masonry is visible. When the tower was built to this height the foundation began to settle down, and when this was perceived the builders very skilfully carried up the building in a nearly vertical line, so as to counteract the tendency to lean and to preserve the centre of gravity." It seems a pity that the Board of Works does not repair this splendid structure, and put a new top of antique model on it; it would be, if perfect, the grandest of Irish round towers.

    Project Gutenberg #39500, Chapter 11