The Capstone of the King of Leinster

It has taken me quite a few attempts to find this enigmatic site. Known by a variety of names, the Tomb Stone or Capstone of the King of Leinster is a large boulder by the roadside in the Arra Mountains looking down into North Tipperary, Galway & parts of Offaly.


In my blog piece about the Graves of the Leinstermen, TJ Westropp mentions his Uncle's gamekeeper telling him about this monument and as luck would have it the great grand-daughter of this man (Paddy Hourigan) contacted me via facebook to tell me that what I thought was the capstone was actually incorrect. She also recommended contacting a relative of hers who lives in the area. Over the weekend with his help I was finally able to find it.


The picture below will give you an indication why it was hard to find!

In my mind as I had passed here so many times and not seen it, I thought it must be on the inside of the ditch but it actually right beside the road. I trampled some of the briars in front of the stone to get some idea of the size of it and its location.

Now why you may ask I am interested in an old stone stuck in a ditch? Well initially it was due to the amount of folklore surrounding it and how it relates to the story of the Graves of the Leinstermen. I came across a few versions of this folklore on duchas.ie.


The first I shall call the Chess Match version


"When Brian Boru was encamped in Kincora, the King of Leinster came to visit him. A quarrel arose between the sons of Brian who were playing chess.
Murrough said something that insulted him, and he left the place immediately. Brian sent a messenger after him, and he overtook him but the king killed him. Brian and his troops followed over to Portroe to a hill called Lougtea. A great number of the Leinster were slain and were buried there. It is known as The Graveyard of the Leinster men."


http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5162111/5155180/5170255


The other version is mainly due to some scheming by Brian Boru's Viking wife Gormlaith and there is a version of that one here


Most versions end with the "King of Leinster" being executed or buried within sight of Leinster at this stone. The picture below gives an idea of the view into Leinster from the stone.

I recently found this account on duchas.ie and it made me redouble my efforts to find the actual stone.

"About two miles from my home at the west side of Tonn-Teine Hill, there is a very old mould and seven tombstones standing straight upright to mark the resting places of the King of Leinster's soldiers, who it is said were killed during a battle. Half a mile further on the King himself is buried, as he made a last wish to get a view of his native place before they slew him. They took him up on this hill and rolled this large stone over his grave, with the crude inscription "The King of Leinster 1012". There are other marks on this big stone such as deep hollows cut out here and there. This big stone is not so peculiar as the seven upright ones belonging to the soldiers. These attract many visitors every year, they are on the direct road midway between Ballina and the Slate Quarries at the west side of Tonn-Teine."


http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5177603/5172779/5187486


So what were these deep hollows cut into the stone? Could they be possible rock-art? Is there really an inscription on it? Also the mention of a mould relating to the Graves of the Leinstermen is unusual also.
Due to all the growth around the stone I was unable to confirm or rule out whether any of these exist. They probably don't but it is strange that they are mentioned. Hopefully in late winter the foliage around the stone will have died back and I might be able to get a better look.


Archaeology.ie has this to say about the stone "Situated on a NE-facing slope of rising ground in a mountainous area. A large natural boulder protruding at an angle from the surface of the ground known locally as the 'Tomb Stone of the King of Leinster'(Westropp 1911-12, 186-212)."


Dr Siobhan Geraghty (former heritage office for North Tipperary) also has this to say about it "A large boulder further down slope has the name of ‘Knockaunrilaghin’ (RM19 36 ‘possible cairn’ the small hill of the King of Leinster. This points to the area having a long political significance. The Araide, the original early medieval inhabitants of the Arra mountain region, were considered to be a Leinster tribe, though by the 12th century they were described in a law text as being subject to Cashel."

TJ Westropp in his account on the Graves of the Leinstermen also mentions the finding of "big bones & rusty iron weapons beside this rock and may show the site to have been a cairn-type burial place".

In the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Acadamy (1911-1912) Westropp says  "When a quarry was opened in Townlough and some cottages built, I am told that "they dug behind the Knockaun and found big bones." My uncle's gamekeeper at Townlough also told me some five years since that "a big heap of stones behind the rock was removed the time the bones were found." In 1892, Mr. Eobert White, of Kincora, gave me a more definite account. His grandfather had told him that, when the mound was quarried into, a large skeleton and several rusted iron weapons were found. The latter were " kept as curiosities " by a Mr. Molloy, but I could not learn their ultimate fate ; they were probably thrown out " (as such objects usually are in Co. Clare) as rubbish."

From the OS Namebooks

"Knockane-ree-Lyon
Cnocán Rig Laigen, the King of Leinsters hillock.

Knockaunreelyon - J.O'D.
Knockane-ree-lyon - Fr Michl. Roche
Knockane-ree-lyon - Fr. Wm. Hogan

"Knockane-ree-lyon" or the "King of Leinster's hill". it has nothing remarkable in appearance except some rubbish of stones and earth, and is a place where a King of Leinster was buried as pointed out by the above named authorities.
Brien Boromhe King of Munster was married to a sister of the King of Leinster the latter was subject to the former so much that he was compelled to take a number of his servants with a large Maypole on their shoulders, to Brien ever May Eve. He had been coming over this mountain at a time (it was the public road at this time from Killaloe to Nenagh) and his men having this Maypole on their shoulders; one of the men got fatique from the journing, the king went to take his part of the pole and by doing so lost a silver button from his coat. when they reached Killaloe the King asked of his sister a needle to sow on the button when she saw her brother was so fatigued and torn by her husbands tyranny she persuaded him to declare war against her husband and be longer a subject to him so accordingly he left a challenge for Brien (he was not at home this night) and proceeded on his way home, he had not gone long when Brien came and finding his brother-in-law gone without paying him the usual respect and also the challenge, he was so enraged at this, that he swore that he would be revenged of him, so he took all his host and pursued him, when he overtook him and all his men about 3 chains to the S. of "Knockane-ree-lyon" where he put all the men to death byt the Leinster King begged to be allowed to proceed on his way until he would be in sight of his own Country (Leinster) which is only the above named distance, this being granted he was put to death and buried at this place. This is the Traditional Storey and was not credited by many until 1827 when the Mining Company was building houses here for different purposes. They had a man named Star in the work, he went to this place and took some stones off the surface of the supposed tomb and discovered a large stone covering two flags and under them was found the bones of this King with his head faced towards the North. Then a man named McCormick, a Shopkeeper in Killaloe took the bones to his own place where he partly made an exhibition of them and shortly after McCormic died. Michael Star likewise died immediately after and it is said by the inhabitants here that this was the cause.

W. Wilkinson Esq
Lt. R. R
6th July 1841

So its a very interesting area - there is an anomalous stone group known as "The Graves of the Leinstermen" - the most interesting speculation I have heard is that it may be the remains of a court tomb. To the north-east of this is the hill of Laghtea which has the remains of a Hill-fort on it and then to the east / south-east of both is "The Capstone of the King of Leinster". There is also a story linking the hill behind it (Tonntinne) with a story about Fintan who is supposed to have survived the Biblical flood by sleeping in cave on the hill. Sometimes the story mentions a cave and other times it is at the Graves of the Leinsterman itself that he sleeps. However to date the remains of no monuments have been found on this large peaty hill-side. Could there be more to be found underneath the peat?


Why was this boulder thought to be of importance? Could it be the remains of a cairn as suggested by Siobhan Hegarty? My own theory is could it possibly be a boulder burial? Many of these have rock-art on them or grooves etc. They are associated with burials (which this one is) and are of similar size to the stone here. I will probably have to wait till the foliage around it dies off in winter to find out.