A possible burial mound rediscovered and a solution to a townland name at Townlough

The Mound from the shoreline

Two of my interests came together in the rediscovering and recording of a possible burial mound in the Castletown Arra area of Tipperary between Portroe & Ballina.

While working through deceased local historian Mikey Joy's archives I came across reference to a place known as the Sally Point in the townland of Townlough Lower. Initially I always thought of Townlough as being up in the "hills", I didn't really realise that the townland stretched all of 2kms down to the lake.

It was described as a mound where there was some folklore related to fairies interfering with workers at harvest time. With the scanning work continuing with this large archive of material I didn't think too much more about it but slowly I think I turned it over in my head.

I knew that the meaning of the name Townlough was "Tuaim an Lacha" or "Burial Mound by the Lake" and this had always bothered me, what tomb / burial mound was it referring to? I had actually wondered was it the Graves of the Leinstermen, which is just on the edge of the townland in Coolbaun but actually about 2km away from the lake.

I wondered was there anything unusual along the lake shore in the townland and thanks to aerial photos on archaeology.ie I could see that there was an unusual grove of trees that "kicked" out from the natural tree line.

Copyright OSI / NMS

I looked on the old maps and this little "kick" seems to date back till at least the 1840s and is included in all of them.

Copyright OSI / NMS

I then went through all the stuff that has been scanned as part of the Mikey Joy Archive and found a more detailed version within the archive with some more information on this mound at the Sally point.

"The Sally Point

This mound is known locally as The Fairy Clump and is situated at The Sally Point, Townlough Lower.  

Iniscealtra or Holy Island is approximately 3 1/2 miles away in Scariff Bay. In the 9th and 10th centuries the monastery there was the target of several attacks by the Norsemen. The monks built a round tower for protection and it is at this point we enter the realm of folklore. The story is that, as well as the round tower, the monks also built an underground passage all of 3 1/2 miles long with an exit at this point. It sounds incredible, but old residents of the area would tell you that in the early years of the century the site was explored by an archaeologist, who was rewarded for his efforts by finding the exit of the tunnel. He entered the passage, but after proceeding a considerable distance, his lighted candle failed indicating lack of oxygen, so he had to abandon his mission and return to the daylight.


Other stories from this locality concern the activities of the 'good people' especially around the mound at the eerie hour of midnight. In the last century this land was farmed as part of Derrycastle. This particular field was usually a meadow and mown at the time with scythes. In hot weather the men would work in the early morning and again late in the evening, sometimes continuing until one or two o'clock with moonlight. On one particular midnight they edged their scythes beside the Fairy Mound, but when they went to mow, the grass was lying and they couldn't cut it.  

In this case the men decided they weren't welcome and went home for a few hours sleep. When they came back in the morning the hay was standing, the edge had returned to their scythes and they were able to continue their work unhindered".

What seemed particular persuasive was the mention of a "tunnel" in the mound. Now of course it isn't possible that is went all the way under the lake to Holy Island but often mounds with passages or cists within have folklore like this.

Finally I got a chance between everything to head over that way by fishing boat (weather and life in general) and amazingly my hunch was correct. There was a mound at this location (see picture above).

Is is a definitely a burial mound? That will be difficult to ascertain for sure. In the townland there are also the remains of a towerhouse linked to the Rollestons and the field boundaries could suggest that there was formerly some kind of estate gardens here. Could this mound be some kind of garden feature, a tree ring perhaps? I don't think so.

I sent on the information I have to the National Monuments Service and it has since been added to the Sites and Monuments Record. The local archaeologist has not inspected it yet, only the information I was able to put together.

However I would argue that the case is strong for the discovery of Tuaim an Lacha or the Burial Mound by the Lake. A burial mound that gives its name to an entire townland must have been of importance.

Anyway I'm posting this to see if there is anymore information about the mound, for or against.

The Danes Bed - Baurnaglanna / Lackabrack

Copyright - OSI

I was looking back over some notes I took about possible archaeological features mentioned in the Irish Schools Manuscripts.

One was a Danes bed in Lackabrack near the Silvermines."There is a Danes bed in one of Kennedy's fields in Lackabrack. A Dane was coming home from selling eggs. She was asked to take the shortest road she could so she jumped into Kennedy's field and she broke her leg in the fall. She died in that spot and was buried there. That is called her bed where she was buried. The previous owners of the field "Coghlans" ploughed around it and immediately they all got sick. The bed consists of two stones at the sides, one at the head and one at the foot."

I wonder could this be a description for the megalithic structure that is just on the townland boundary between Baurnaglanna / Lackabrack. It is described on archaeology.ie as follows

"There is no recognisable ancient feature at the position indicated on the OS 6-inch map which is on the E side of a field-bank at the foot of a S-facing slope just N of the Mulkear River. An OS Name Book (c.1840) records that the name applied to a 'a heap of stones covering about a square perch [c.5 m?] of ground'. An account in a later OS Name Book (1904) claims that the feature in question was a horizontally laid stone. Crawford (1910, 41) noted a large stone buried in a field bank a projecting corner of which rested on a smaller stone. The nature of the feature referred to is uncertain. (De Valera and Ó Nualláin 1982, 97-8, No.5)"

Borlase gives a description as follows

"Borlase, No. 1 (under name of Knockanroe). This is a doubtful specimen, and situated in an unusual place, that is in the side of a glen or ravine. A large flat stone is buried in the bank, with one corner projecting, and this corner rests on a smaller stone ; nothing more can be seen. Bauraglanna is in the valley called Glenculloo, at the foot of the Keeper Mountain, a mile or more south of the village of Silver mines".


I'd say there is a very good chance they are the same.

https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922152/4856580

Mauherslieve Mountain - An unrecorded Passage Tomb in Tipperary?

It is 16 years since I last climbed the Mauherslieve Mountain and I'm well overdue a return visit. On top is a large cairn which is likely to be a passage tomb, making it only the 2nd passage tomb in Tipperary.

From archaeology.ie

"Described in the OS Name Books (1840) as a large heap of whitish stones on the summit.. Under which it is said there is a cave or cellar in which a great number of the neighouring people took refuge in the time of the rebellion... it is not known when this cave was made in the moutain... the entrance to it cannot be seen as it is covered with the large stone above mentioned". 

The exact meaning of the word Mauher Slieve Mountain is not definite. It is sometimes translated as the Mother Mountain but I'm not 100% sure if this is accurate. The local pronounciation of it is different to the how "Mau her" is pronounced in Irish.

If we see Tempan's paper linked below (Two Moumtain Names, Slieve Felim and Mauherslieve) he records the pronounciation as "moherclea" and "moher" (see pg 123) which tallies a lot more with how I heard it myself locally in 2018 at Kennedys Bar in Rearcross.

He thinks the true meaning / name of the mountain may be "Mothar Shléibhe or Mothar an tSléibhe, 'overgrown wilderness of the mountain".

For more on the meaning see here from the North Munster Antiquarian Journal (2006).

In it he mentions Speed's 1610 map of Munster and the name "Ghe Madona" which he has been unable to identify and I do wonder is it related to Mauher Cle, one of the names given to the mountain. Could the Madona refer to Mother and Geh to Cle?

It was one of the Twelve Mountains of Ebhleen or "Phelem" as incorrectly named in Speed's 1610 map above.

From Sacred Ireland by Cary Meehan

"Ebhleen was a mytholocial figure, married to a king of Cashel. She fell in love with her stepson and eloped with him. 

Right in the heart of these mountains is a small peak called Mathair Shliabh or Mother Mountain which has a cairn of stones on top called 'the Terrot'. Those climbing the mountain would carry a stone from the bottom to add to this cairn. The cairn was said to cover the grave of a young man who refused to go to mass one Sunday and went hunting instead. Although it was June - June 29th to be exact - he was caught in a snow-storm and his body later found at the spot now marked by the Terrot.

There was a traditional outing up the mountain here unitl the 1920s. It involved the usual Lughnasa activities of berry-picking, singing and dancing, though the date was 29th June. The monks of Kilcommon were to have started it but it is more likely that they changed the date from Lughnasa to the earlier date which is the Feast of SS Peter and Paul (The Festival of Lughnasa)".

There is more on the Twelve Mountains of Ebhleen in Tempan's paper (pg 120) and it is also the location in the Lebor Gabála Erenn of the place where "the newly arrived Milesians meet with the Goddess Fódla, who appeals to Amergin, leader of the invaders to name the country after her". 

Some really interesting folklore on an event that occurred on the mountain.

"On the 3rd April 1931 a funeral was seen crossin the side of a high hill called Moher Cle, situated in the parish of Templederry about ten miles from Nenagh. That same evening Mrs. Burke of Coumnagella was dead. The funeral which consisted of white horses & common cars commenced in Coumnagella and after passing over the side of Moher Cle disappeared at Bray's Lough. There were about 50 cars all together and in some cases the drivers of the could be seen whipping the horses. The evening was clear & bright & the time about 7 o'clock." 

http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922143/4856170/5015385

I did wonder about this story and something called Charles Bonnet Syndrome. I'm not convinced really whether by giving it a name does it really explain it away but the whole thing is fascinating.

This is only the tip of the iceberg regarding this mountain, it is surrounded by megalithic tombs, of which I have written on here before. It could be argued that this mountain is a ritual "focus" of the tombs that flank it in what may have been a very well populated area when the tombs were being constructed or the area was thought of as sacred enough to justify the large amount of work that went into constructing them.

Collasped section within the cairn.