The Tipperary Antiquarian

The overgrown hall-house. This building just outside Ballina is recorded in the SMR as a Castle - Hall House. It is described as follows: "Situated on high ground overlooking a deep ravine and nearby church (TN025-016----) to the S. The poorly preserved remains of a small rectangular building surviving to first-floor level only, built with roughly coursed sandstone rubble of cyclopean appearance. The building consists of a narrow small ground-floor chamber (int. dims. 6.65m N-S; 3.05m E-W; Wall T 2m) accessed from a segmental-arched doorway situated in the centre of the E wall. This appears to be an insertion and may belong a later phase of construction. The ground floor had a wooden ceiling carried in the thickness of the wall with a destroyed flat-headed window in the centre of the W wall which replaced an earlier window. At first-floor level there is a single-light round-arched window in the N wall (Fitzpatrick 1985, vol. 3, 75-86) which is now obscured by ivy g...

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Duntryleague Passage-tomb near Galbally, Co. Limerick. I always seem to think this is in Tipperary , probably because the view to the east is of the Galtees and the "Harps of Cliu" and because it is on the same ridge of mountain that forms the Glen of Aherlow where Tipperary 's only confirmed passage tomb is located ( Shrough ). This passage tomb is unusual in that it is aligned towards the north. It is located within a forestry plantation that with every new picture I see, seems to be growing taller and taller. I first visited in 2006 when the trees had last been harvested and here are some pictures from this visit. I suppose you could argue that this is   the essence of antiquarianism, visiting monuments and preserving photos and sketches (or whatever) of them before time, nature or human action change them. I found some wonderful folklore on duchas.ie about the tomb, also known as Darby's Bed. Much of the action in this story takes place...

There are currently 14 intact megalithic tombs recorded in North Tipp. Eleven wedge-tombs, two portal-tombs & one court-tomb. There are also records of megalithic structures (possible tombs that don't conform to any of the above types) and there are three of those recorded. However there are also records of a number of tombs that are unfortunately destroyed or missing. Cooleen The first one we will look at was at Cooleen. It was recorded in 1969 by O'Nuallain & De Valera and a photograph was even taken of it. From Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland : Vol IV by Ruaidhrí De Valera & Sean O Nuaillain   Although heavily overgrown at the time it was clearly an impressive tomb with a gallery that was 6 m long. By 1972 it was being used as a dumping ground for other large stones from the surrounding area. In 1969 De Valera & O'Nuaillain even drew a plan of the tomb. From Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland : Vol IV by Ruaidhrí De Valera...

I found this great drawing from 1791 of St. Lua's Oratory which was located on an island on the River Shannon just outside Ballina in North Tipp. The island was drowned when the Ardnacrusha Hyrdo Electric Power plant was built and the level of the water raised. The Oratory was removed stone by stone and reerected in the yard of the RC Church in Killaloe. For some foklore on St. Lua see the following "Long ago there lived on an Island in the vicinity of Killaloe a saint named ... Lua or Molua. It was from this Saint that the town and the diocese got their names. The Cathedral however is called after St Flannan. There are few places in Ireland of more historical interest, combined with unrivalled scenery, than that to which St. Lua gave his name. One of the most ancient monasteries on the Shannon was that built by Molua in the sixth century and this and the monastery called Iniscalthra, founded by Caimin, are situated amidst scenic beauty. Both had...

A pair of earth-fast Bullaun stones in the vicinity of Youghalarra monastic site in North Tipp. Although known locally I realised it hadn't been included in the SMR and notified it to the National Monuments Service. Just one of many interesting sites in the half barony of Arra. Described on archaeology.ie as follows: "In pasture, in a slight hollow, on NE facing slope of rising ground overlooking Lough Derg to N and E, higher ground to NW and W. The shoreline of Lough Derg is 650m to NE. St. Conlan's church (TN014-015001-) and graveyard (TN014-015002-) 1.4km to SE. Second bullaun stone (TN014-078001-) 1.2m upslope to W. A subrectangular earthfast sandstone boulder (dims. 1.15m x 1m; H 0.22m) with two bowl-shaped water-filled hollows (top diam. 0.41m; base diam. 0.3m; D 0.2m) on its upper surface. The W hollow (top diam. 0.41m; base diam. 0.3m; D 0.2m) is 0.04m from shallow E hollow (diam. 0.36m; D 0.07m). According to local tradition these stones were bel...

At over 2.6m tall - this standing stone next to the largest wedge tomb in Tipperary is likely to be the tallest standing stone still standing in Tipp. There is some interesting folklore linking it with the story of Diarmuid & Grainne. They of course were thought to have spent the night in the nearby wedge tomb or leaba. "About 200 yards from this house in an old road stands a pillar stone about 12 ft high. Around this stone is a print of a chain and at one time by its side was a smaller stone, which is now broken and carried away. Longstone tradition says it was brought by Diarmuid on his back by means of a chain and the smaller stone brought by Granna. Stones in the construction of labba seem to be brought a short distance from a Quarry down under in the Glen." It is interesting to note the height of 12ft - this converts back to 3.6m high, what happened to the additional 1m! https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922162/4857307/5016449