The Tipperary Antiquarian

We are in search of a lost “King” and we are looking for your help! We have found the grave of a man noted as the “King of Owney” in Tipperary and we are trying to find his living descendants.  His name was Bartholomew Ryan, he was born about 1750 and died at Carrowkeale near Newport in County Tipperary in 1828. His “title” as “King of Owney” is alluded to in an old parish register recording the birth of his grandson Bartholomew Carey in Birdhill. We think that it may be a reference to him being descended from the Chiefs of Owney O’Mulryan which roughly encompassed the modern area around Birdhill, Newport and Murroe. We hope to find some of his living Ryan ancestors and encourage them to take part in the Ryan DNA Project. We already have over 50 Ryans that have taken detailed DNA tests and it would be interesting to see how his ancestors compare with these. Bartholomew Ryan is buried within the ancient church walls of Ballymackeogh outside Newport. To learn more about him and...

  The Civil Survey mentions a landmark known as Skaghnygon which is some kind of prominent bush in the landscape. It is mentioned in "The Sacred Trees of Ireland" by Lucas as being a potential "sacred tree". I have only recently discovered a bit more about Lucas he was a president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland from 1969 to 1973 and director of the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) from 1954 to 1976. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_T._Lucas One of the landmarks near it mentioned below is Tobbernykelly. I just assumed that it was a name of a well associated with a family. However recently the penny dropped that there was a Tobernakilla marked on the old OS maps to the south-east of Ballinahinch village. It is only recorded as a well rather than a holy well and there is a suggestion that it may have been associated with a Church marked on the Down Survey maps whose exact location is unrecorded. Now there is really no evidence to say it was ...

The Battle of Roscrea St Peter and Pauls or the 29th of June was when a great fair was held in Roscrea. In 942 folklore records that a huge hoard of Vikings attacked the fair in the hopes of making off with the wealth there. However they hadn't bet on just how hardy Tipp and particularly Roscrea people are! "The Danes, under their commander, Olfinn, attracted by the great wealth, which was gathered together at the Aenach, marched on the town, and were annihilated. A description of this battle is found in O'Halloran's "History of Ireland," which is so vivid, it is here quoted in full :--- A great annual fair was held at Roscrea on the festival of Saints Peter and Paul - June 29th - but which continued during fourteen days. As this was nearly in the centre of the kingdom merchants resorted to it, not only from different parts of Ireland, but from foreign countries, to dispose of their wares ; for the country was even then called by the mercantile world ......

  Is there an effigy of the great mythological figure Oisin somewhere at the Rock of Cashel ? Or perhaps an imprint where the bull in this story ran into? I wonder does it have anything to do with the Sheela na Gig on the walls of the Rock? (See comments for a picture). "When St. Patrick was building the great church on the Rock of Cashel, the workmen used to be terribly annoyed, for whatever they put up by day was always found knocked down next morning. So one man watched and another man watched, but about one o'clock in the night every watcher fell asleep as sure as the hearth-money. At last St. Patrick himself sat up, and just as the clock struck one, what did he see but a terrible bull, with fire flashing from his nostrils, charging full drive up the hill, and pucking down every stone, stick, and bit of mortar that was put together the day before. "Oh, ho ! " says the Saint, "Til soon find one that will settle you, my brave bull" Now, who was th...

Is the remains of the famous rapparee Galloping Hogan's house? (Original photo is in the link). The folklore (below) suggests that it is in the townland of Johnstown near Puckane in North Tipp. There is another map associated with the same school and it gives it in an eastern area of Johnstown near the road. I took a look around that area recently but there was no sign of it. Luckily I met with a local man while there, he doesn't recall any folklore linking Galloping Hogan to the area. He recalls his father telling him a story that when Hogan was being executed, that Hogan asked the crowd, "was there anyone there from Hogan's Pass?". However he didn't recall any stories in the local area about Hogan. This is a story that I have seen mentioned before in relation to rapparee's or highwaymen and generally the idea is that he wanted to tell someone where his treasure was buried. There is another story in the School's Manuscripts that records this event...

Known as St Kevin's Well in the Schools Manuscripts, it is actually a bullaun stone rather than a spring well. I visited this years ago and only just happened upon this folklore related to it recently. "Rath-Caoimhighin, which means Rathkevin or the Fort of Kevin is situated about four miles from Clonmel and six miles from Cahir and is reached by a field from the main road. It is a thickly wooded fort surrounded by a white thorn hedge. It was supposed to have been the abode of the Danes in olden times and was protected from enemies by a Moat, and inside the Moat was a wall. A drawbridge was placed over the moat and on the side fo the moat was an iron gong and beneath it a stout club. When people came to it they struck the gong with the club and the people inside heard it and looked out to see whether it was a friend or an enemy. If a friend they raised the portcullis and let fall the bridge. There was a saint named Kevin living there, hence the name Rath-Caoimhighin. T...

 The Devil's Track near Kilcommon, North Tipp. "At Knocknabansha just on the roadside about half mile east of the village is the Devil's Track. It is a large stone embedded in the soil. On it is a large track resembling a horses's hoof. It is deep at the toe about 2 1/2" and shallower towards the back. The devil put it there by stepping on the stone on his way to Cashel from Barnane." https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922168/4857932 This stone supposedly near the village of Kilcommon in the Slieve Felims isn't recorded on any maps. I did a little searching for it recently and asked around in the local area if anyone knew its location. Unfortunately no one that I met had even heard of it. Besides it having wonderful folklore linking it with the story of the Devil's Bit near Templemore, I had also wondered whether it had the potential to be unrecorded rock-art. If anyone knows someone from the area, they might pass on the info and see if anybody l...

Lough Thuile near Kilcommon in North Tipp. A Mountainy Lake Monster? "On top of a Hill in townland of Garrycummer is a lake called Loughthuile. It has no outlet. An attempt was made to drain it hundreds of years ago but when they looked back as they were just letting go the water all the houses in the valley below were on fire and so the lake was left as it is. .... Like all mountain tarns a monster guards the lake. A Huge Eel appears there occasionally and when a death is about to take place a light crosses it. It is said that no man could swim it that the monster would suck him down in the middle. It is frequented by plover, wild duck and wild geese but contains no fish of any kind." https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922168/4857884/5018877 There is similar folklore about the draining of Lough Muskry in the Glen of Aherlow, when they tried to drain it, there houses ended up on fire back at home. Also similar to Lough Muskry - there is a story of a lake monster.

Has anyone ever hear of "The Kings Stone" in the River Suir near Knockgraffon / Cahir in South Tipp? It is referenced in the book The Suir - from its Source to Sea by L.M. McGrath with the attached photo of it (which is pretty inconclusive to me in terms of location). Why is it important? Well it is said that it was the stone on which the most ancient ancestor (Fiacha Muilleathan) of the Eoganachta or original Kings of Munster was born. Seemingly being born here on a stone between boundaries was to fulfil a prophecy. In McGrath's book it says "It lies in the river-bed within sight of the mote, not far from where Ballydrehid House now stands." (The mote being Knockgraffon). There is nothing marked on the old OS maps in the river near Ballydrehid House but there is to the north of Knockgraffon Motte on the River Suir.    There is a stone marked in the river and described in the SMR as follows ""Indicated as a rock or outcrop in the River Suir, adjacent t...

  Does anyone know the location of Kyle Hill on the Laois / Offaly border just to the east of Roscrea or even better still the location of the Brehon's chair that is said to be located on the hill. I have not been able to find the exact location of the hill to date. John Feehan in "The Landscape of the Slieve Blooms" pgs 212 & 213 says the following "The hills here, rising to over 275 metres in Laughil and to nearly 250 metres in Ballyduff to the south-west, were called Slewnemoronty, which is probably sliabh na mórdhala (-áltaí?), the mountain of the assembly, which is not unlikely in view of the traditions associated with Saint Thomas' Seat which is a conspicuous outcrop of Old Red Sandstone at the top of the mountain in Ballyduff. Known as the Fairy Chair (the hill is called Fairy hill), this outcrop is described by Seward in Topographica hibernica (1795) as the judgement seat where the brehon of the Fitzpatrick held his court. Tradition attributes a...

©  John Gilroy I was reminded recently about a standing stone near Tipperary Town that was reputed to have been part of Mogh Ruith's "Rowing Wheel".  I first came across a reference to it in John Gilroy's book "Tlachtga - Celtic Fire Festival" (which was published in 2000) and went to look for it a few times around 2008.  ©  John Gilroy In his book he says on pg 80 about the "Rowing Wheel" (he calls it a "Flying Wheel") " O'Curry tells us that it was finally destroyed at the Battle of Sollyhead about three miles west of Tipperary in or about the year 941AD. One part of the Flying Wheel remains as a curiously sculpted stone pillar in the townland of Dromline, outside Tipperary town."  He also includes a photo of the stone which is included here above.  At the time I would have only had Discovery OS maps and I searched around the townland of Dromline for any standing stones (There were none marked I believe). There were two st...

  Ballymackey Castle in North Tipp. It is probably best known as the residence of the last Chief of the O'Meara Clan - Morgan O'Meara. "Morgan O'Meara, the last of the O'Mearas who exercised chieftancy over his sept, was heir to a patrimony which extended from Bennett's Bridge near Nenagh to beyond Toomevara itself, the burial place of the O'Meara's took its name from his family of which, heir male to the name, though not to the property, existed in the person of two nephews less than a century ago. The O'Meara estates embraced a large portion of Upper Ormond. The residence of the O'Meara was at Ballymackey Castle, and there the old chieftain lived in princely style until he had gambled away his princely estates to a "friend" of his named Kilpatrick, from whom they were afterwards purchased by the Tolers, ancestors of Lord Norbury. There was high festival and true Irish hospitality always kept up at Ballymackey Castle - the dwelli...

  We don't know what the function of a round tower was?  Round towers have been recorded in the various Annals as Cloigteach which translates as a Bell tower. We don't know how old round towers are?  This was dealt with as far back as 1845 by George Petrie in which he convincingly dated them to the medieval period. His paper is available to download here.  https://archive.org/details/ecclesiasticalar00petr Architectural evidence has always pointed to them being of medieval date, mainly by association with the neighbouring buildings but also similar architectural features. See O'Keeffe's Ireland's Round Towers 64-91. Pg 71 "Why do we date these arched doorways - and the towers in which they feature - to this particular period? It is partly on negative grounds: we expect post-1130 doorways to be more elaborate. It is also partly on comparative grounds. The true arch, by which is meant an arch made with voussoirs, seems only to appear in church architecture in the...

  Always nice to help record a previously unrecorded monument. This bullaun stone in Timoney townland not far from Roscrea hadn't been recorded in the Sites & Monuments Record before. It is located about 40m from a nearby church and graveyard. It has at least bowls carved into an earthfast rock. I think this is the 4th bullaun stone I have been involved with adding to the records in Tipperary. I'm sure lots of people have passed this and just assumed that it was known about but as I always say if anyone has any doubts that something might be recorded drop me a PM and I will try help. Either that or contact the National Monuments Service directly.

The maps seems to suggest broadly that the underlying geology plays a big factor in where they are located. I think the underlying geology may also have been a factor in the location of some of the county boundaries also. It may be tricky to read because of all the different soil / geology types represented. The map is based on information from the National Monument Service of Ireland, Department of Communities - Northern Ireland Sites & Monuments Record, the Geological Survey of Ireland & Open Street Map Ireland contributors.