Arkle the greatest Steeplechaser of all time
and Clonmethan Church ruins.
I know nothing about Race horses but I came across Saint Mary's Church ruins at Clonmethan by chance and wandered in.
Both the breeder and trainer of Arkle are laid to rest in the grounds here.
That in a Nutshell is Clonmethan's connection to Arkle.
There is a nice contemporary memorial to the dead from the locality who perished in WWI.
At some time in antiquity this location housed a substantial Monastery however all such indications of its presence have long since been subsumed into the soil.
The Church was built in 1818 according to a plaque on the wall.
It was built by the "Board of First Fruit" a Church of Ireland organisation which funded many of these type of Churches from contributions taken existing Churches.
The basic layout is fairly standardised throughout Ireland and they were built to the specifications laid down by the Board of First Fruit.
Not far from the Church entrance is an old Post Office Wall box.
It is an Edward VII box.
Most of these Wall Boxes were marked with the initials of the reigning Monarch at the time of their installation, in this case King Edward VII.
King Edward VII is also a decent Cigar too if you like Cigars!
Further down the box are the initials SE.
This box was repurposed after independence to the first name of the newly (somewhat) independent Ireland called Saorstát Éireann - literal translation; Free State Ireland.
There was a huge lack of Ironmongers, equipment, material and tradespeople so the Government initially just restamped many of these "Imperial" Wall boxes and left them "in situ".
Thankfully these delightful little reminders of history
are still dotted all about Ireland.
I come across a few of them stamped with the SE monicker
however they are few and far between, a little rarer than average.
Nearby there are old Iron entrance gates which appear to say 1928 Roogy.
I have no idea whatsoever what this eludes to.
Keep the wheels turning.
