Wednesday, 8 February 2023

1686 Informal Chest Tomb Figures and Saint Scire, Kilskyre, Meath.

Saint Scire and Kilskyre 1686 Chest Tomb

I'm unsure what to call Kilskyre. It's also called Kilskeer however its status I don't know.

Is it a village, is it a townland, is it merely a small hamlet?

There is a modern Church here and a small scattering of domestic dwellings and farmhouses but it's a small place nonetheless.

I came across this location purely by chance.

I passed a restored Holy Well by the roadside dedicated to a Saint Scire who I had never heard tell of.

There were at one time three Holy Wells recorded in this area.

This particular Well was restored in 2008 by the local community.

Spotting some ruinous looking walls nearby I subsequently headed for there and passed through farm gates and a field after checking with the farmer who was working nearby.

There is a ruined Church here with very little of the original structure remaining. It was possibly in use until as late as the 1700's but is now almost completely destroyed.

The site is believed to have previously housed an entire monastic settlement and a Round Tower and was probably quite extensive at one point in time.

A Geophysical survey was completed in 2006 which helped identify several features.

Saint Scire is accredited with founding a settlement here some time in the 6th century and her feast day is believed to be March 24th.

Schiria is believed to have been her actual name. I can't say I have heard this name in usage before and it seems to be an unusual one, certainly for Ireland.

Kilskrye can thus be interpreted as the Church of Saint Schiria.

I believe there may be a wayside Cross located nearby however I didn't spot it on my travels.

What is most impressive here at Kilskyre is the O'Reilly Plunkett Chest Tomb.

This tomb dating from 1686 has some wonderfully beautiful carvings surrounding it.

Their beauty lies in their informal simplicity when held in comparison to the more rigid and structured figures and weepers that can often surround Chest Tombs.

They are really interesting and quite delightful to view firsthand.

Knowing nothing about this site it was nice to stumble across them and find out a little about the history of Saint Schiria who was reputedly a direct descendant of Niall of the Nine hostages.

I have included a few photographs of these figures and of the Plunkett and O'Reilly family armorial plaques which are also carved in the same informal manner.

The figures surrounding the Chest Tomb appear to be a clothed male in Orans posture, a female figure in some type of dress with her hands across her torso, a semi clad male kneeling and again in an Orans type posture.

Lastly there is a skull and crossbones Memento Mori alongside an Angel at the top of the Headstone.

It is possible that Hugh O'Reilly may have been related to the fenian John Boyle O'Reilly who centuries later would escape a penal colony on Australia in a ship which sailed from America as both were from Meath.

It is also possible that Catherine Plunkett may have been a distant relative of Saint Oliver Plunkett but both of these suggestions are merely speculation on my part.

I have no information of a direct connection other than the locale and the fact that both Catherine and Hugh were presumably minor Irish aristocracy.

Kilskyre was obviously a wealthy and flourishing site as it was reputedly plundered by both the Vikings sometime in the 900's and again in 1170 by that perennial bogeyman of Irish history, Dermot MacMurrough

(Diarmaid MacMurchada).

Dermot is remembered chiefly for imploring Henry II to help him regain his lands and titles thus setting the stage for the eventual Norman conquest of Ireland.

It may actually have been Pope Adrian IV's issuance of the Laudabiliter Papal Bull to Henry II which probably initiated or certainly provided a divine pretext for the subsequent Anglo Norman conquest of Ireland.

Keep the wheels turning.

Coordinates here:

53°41'28.4"N 6°59'50.4"W

53.691224, -6.997333

Kilskyre and Ballinlough history

Hugh O'Reilly

Kilskrye Old Cemetery - Meath History Hub

Saturday, 4 February 2023

The Headache Stone and Saint Hugh's Well, Rahugh, Westmeath

The Headache Stone

Sometimes things happen for a reason. I had recently been cycling around checking out a few antiquities when a fellow cyclist became aware of my interest and sent me details of the intriguing Headache Stone in County Westmeath.

Several years ago I had been cycling through Rhode in County Offaly when a driver pulled in and asked me did I know of a Holy Well and Saint Stone said to cure headaches and migraines.

He told me his father, who was in the passenger seat, wasn't well and said they were driving around in hope of finding the Well and Stone.

Sadly I was disappointed to be unable to offer help or directions because at the time I didn't even know of its existence.

And so it seems that several years later fate has intervened in an unlikely manner and I finally got the opportunity to go and visit the Headache Stone and Saint Hugh's Well.

Located in Rahugh, the Irish name for which is Ráth Aodha (Áed) the Saint Stone is well worth taking the time to visit.

Áed, Aodh or Aodha is occasionally translated into English as the boys name Hugh so this is presumably the origins for the naming of the Saint Stone and Holy Well.

Although the title of the post references just the Headache Stone there are other antiquities of interest here at Rahugh.

Roughly 250 metres east south east of the Saint Stone is the aforementioned Saint Hugh's Well.

Its waters are remarkably clear, so clear in fact that I could see to the very bottom of the Well.

Here I found a scattering of personal and devotional offerings and some prayers for intercession from the Saint.

While unashamedly secular I still find these places quite spiritual, tranquil and even somewhat inspirational.

Simple everyday objects left at the Cross above the Well such as shoes, keys, cigarette lighters, watches and small coins lend a certain poignancy to the Holy Well of Saint Hugh.

A prayer on paper pressed into a small gap between the rocks of the Well and a laminated intercessory appeal on the ground added to the sense that this was and still is a place of great importance, dignity and ritual.

A reminder of an all to often forgotten and overlooked past in our headlong rush to modernity.

At Rahugh the landowner is preserving these historic monuments to tradition.

We spoke at length and access to the site is encouraged however apparently there has been an occasional visitor bringing a dog onto the farm.

Common sense dictates that a dog, neither leashed nor unleashed be brought on to someone else's property, especially not when livestock are present.

The Headache Stone itself as it turns out is actually a very large early Christian Cross Inscribed Stone.

The carvings of the Cross are difficult to make out as the Stone lies partially buried under a hedgerow and is covered with moss and lichen.

Below is a sketch of the Headache Stone circa 1896 by the Reverend G.T. Stokes which shows in greater detail the carved Cross slab.

At birth Saint Hugh, in Irish Saint Áed Mac Bricc, is reputed to have banged his head on the Stone after which a central depression was formed from the impression of his head.

The Headache Stone has therefor also at times been called Saint Hugh's Birthstone.

While difficult to make out in the pictures there are two depressions to be seen on the Stone.

A larger central depression and a smaller depression just off to the right of this.

They were probably originally an integral part of the carved Cross but may have been hollowed out a little deeper at a later time.

Somewhat hard to see in my photographs they are easier to distinguish at the site itself while looking directly at the Stone.

It is reputed that should a visitor place their head in the central depression while placing their right elbow in the smaller depression to the side they will be cured of Headaches or ailments afflicting the head.

The gentleman who farms here also informed me that should you place your head onto the Stone and you don't have any ailment of the head then a bad fate may await you.

Basically don't use the Headache Stone unless your suffering with head problems.

I'm not 100% sure what sort of bad fates await but there was mention of people dying within 12 months. I'm not particularly superstitious but it seems best to follow that simple advice.

Easily seen as you approach the Saint Stone is the enclosing boundary wall of a graveyard described as "post medieval". I'm guessing it dates to the middle of the 1700's.

Located within the graveyard but heavily overgrown with vegetation is the remains of an earlier medieval Church.

Predating both the Wall and Church would have been the preexisting 6th Century Monastery founded by Saint Áed (Hugh) of which no visible trace remains.

There is ample signage on a field gateway indicating Saint Hugh's Well and Headache Stone but I had missed it many times previously as I had flown past with my head down on the bike so it may be easily missed if you're not watching out for it.