Moll Rooney's Loaf and Griddle, Tallaght, Dublin

Moll Rooney's Loaf and Griddle 

at
Tallaght 

in
Dublin

In the grounds of Saint Maelruain's Church of Ireland at Tallaght lies an unusual relic. 

It has been known as both Moll Rooney's Losset and Moll Rooney's Loaf and Griddle.

There is a Laois connection to both this Church and Saint Maelruain through Óengus the Culdee who founded a monastery at Dysart Enos in Laois. 

No trace of this monastery nor a reputed Round Tower are to be found at Dysart Enos now but a late period ruined Church marks the site on a small rural hilltop.

The Church at Tallaght is described as an 1829 Gothic revival Church with a Crenellated Bell Tower. The Bell Tower is a remnant surviving from a previous medieval Church that was located on the site.

The medieval Church that preceded it was obviously a fortified Church  and not too dissimilar from those at Balrothery or Lusk in North County Dublin.

The present site of the Church is presumed to be where an 8th Century Celi De ( Céile Dé / Culdee) monastery  was formed  by Saint Maelruain in the latter part of that Century.

 

Saint Maelruain is also referred to as  Máel Ruain.

Maelruain along with Óengus are sometimes believed to be and credited as the authors of the Martyrology of Tallaght - the Martyrologium Tamlactense. 

The manuscript is a list of Saints and their Feast days and was probably partially copied from elsewhere with later additions added to it as well.

Moll Rooney's Losset is an unusually large Granite Font and much larger than any traditional Fonts usually associated with Churches.

The word Losset is accepted as an old Irish word which meant a kneading tray or trough or a large breadboard.

There is a story which tells of Cromwellian troops occupying the Church and using the Font as a watering trough for their horses. I have no idea how to verify that particular claim.

A simple Latin Cross with a single line carved horizontally near its base is erected on a small circular base which may or may not be a Mill Stone.

This is the reputed burial place of Saint Maelruain.

The Stained Glass artist Evie Hone is also buried nearby in the Graveyard.

What is particularly interesting is that this site in Tallaght is representative of an ecclesiastical tradition dating back farther than 1200 years into the past. 

This fact alone is enough to have ones interest piqued in another of the hidden historical artifacts to be found in what can be taken 

at first sight as a modern and expanding concrete jungle bereft of vernacular character or ancient heritage.

Like many other large suburbs lying on the edges of Ireland's major cities, an enormous wealth of heritage is often waiting to be discovered and hiding in plain sight.

The old Tramway to Blessington once ran nearby.

Keep the wheels turning. 

References listed below :

Tradition of Saint Aengus the Culdee - - - Céile Dé dúchas.ie 

City Desert-Saint Máel Ruain

Ask about Ireland - Moll Rooney's Loaf and Griddle

A Losset - dúchas.ie - Schools Collection

History of Tallaght - South Dublin CC

Saint Maelruain of Tallaght - Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae

Saint Maelruan - Orthodox Christianity

Saint Maelruain - Catholic Ireland

Culdee - New Advent

The Culdees of Druidical Days - Library Ireland

Evie Hone - An Túr Gloine --- Stained Glass Artist Find a Grave

Dictionary of Irish Architects - Evie Hone

The Hermit Priest - - -Idiorrhythmia was the original form of monastic life in Christianity, as exemplified by St. Anthony of Egypt and is the opposite of cenobitic monasticism in that instead of communal ownership, the monk lives alone, often in isolation. Philosophically it consists of a total withdrawal from society, normally in the desert......

Offaly Archives ----- Evie Hone  Painter and Stained Glass Artist.

Buildings of Ireland.ie 

Pictured below is a wooden Statuette of Saint Maelruain discovered at Crossbeg in County Wexford.

Maelruains Statuette

 Ballyadding Medieval Church

Just a quick post on Ballyadding medieval Church located not far from Ballybrittas in Laois.

It's a quiet spot and the Church is set in tranquil surroundings.

There's not a huge amount here to see but it's a nice little building nonetheless.

Several gravestones date to the 1700's and overall it's worth visiting if you live nearby are or in the area.

The Church is described as a small late medieval ruin.

 

It is also ascribed as the final resting place of an infamous Raparee, a type of outlaw, Charles O'Dempsey  (Cathair na gCapall) who was hanged at Maryborough in 1735 after trial.

Portlaoise at that time was known as Maryborough and was named for Queen Mary I

(Bloody Mary) of England while Daingan, the then County Town of Offaly 

was known as Philipstown in honour of her husband King Philip II of Spain.

 

Apparently he spoke very little English and addressed the court at Maryborough in his native Gaelic tongue.

Laois Burial Grounds 

U. of Michigan - Evans Collection :A GENUINE HISTORY OF THE LIVES AND ACTIONS of the most notorious Irish ROGUES and RAPPAREES.

Cathair na gCapall - dúchas.ie

I have photographed a Dempsey Headstone from the 1700's. These may or may not be related, I have no further information.

Coordinates here:

53°06'23.4"N 7°06'51.6"W

53.106501, -7.114336

Griffiths Valuation

Manger Megalithic Tomb, The Druids Altar and Ballycoolan Cairn

 Manger Megalithic Tomb 
The Druids Altar 

and 
Ballycoolan Cairn

In a particularly quiet and panoramic corner of Laois are the remains of several Megalithic antiquities perhaps dating back to the Bronze age and beyond.

The area encompasses Luggacurren, Dysart Enos, Clopook, Wolfhill and Fossy Mountain.

Most if not all of the many Standing Stones, possible Neolithic Dolmens, Bronze age Cists and prehistoric ritual and funerary monuments that once crowded this area have disappeared or long since been destroyed.

They are unfortunately lost to posterity and little remembered apart from recollections and writings in journals and antiquarian books that were generally written during the 1800's and early 1900's.

Three prehistoric remnants are relatively well known from that small area along with a forgotten and half hidden Standing Stone, The Standing Stone of Clopook and Clopook Hillfort.

All have access difficulties except what is described as a "Megalithic Tomb" at Ass's Manger in Luggacurren. Although it is a roadside antiquity is is usually buried deep beneath undergrowth and can be difficult to locate.

Fully described as a "Megalithic Tomb Unclassified" this probable Cist type structure at Ass's Manger was located close to a now missing row of Standing Stones. There were also records of several other Cists being found and opened that were close by at Luggacurren.

The first photograph below shows the Cist type structure completely overgrown and subsequent photographs show it after removal of some of the overgrowth. A tiny section of Corbelling type construction is visible inside the structure.

I have also included a black and white photograph taken from 

O'Hanlon and O'Leary - History of the Queen's County.

Below is a Screen shot from a History of the Queens County referencing some of the prehistory of the area.

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The Druids Altar is located in an area between Luggacurren and Wolfhill called Monamanry. It is simply described as a "Megalithic Structure." O'Hanlon described it as a Dolmen.

It is roughly 1.5 Kms West-southwest of Ass's Manger.

Today it is a single recumbent slab surrounded by a circle of kerbstones. There is difficulty in interpreting exactly what it is when its original form and structure may have been altered over time. It is nonetheless a wonderful and rare Laois Megalith.

The encircling kerbstones suggest it may once have been covered by a large tumulus of earth or stones while the lone central stone is suggestive of that of a tomb's Capstone although this is just speculation on my part.

There were several Fulacht Fiadh recorded nearby. 

These are believed to have been cooking pits from antiquity.

 

I have also included another black and white photograph from O'Hanlon and O'Leary.

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Ballycoolan Cairn is a mystery.

It is a large mound which appears to consist of a huge mound of loose stones reminiscent of multi-Cist or Passage tomb type burials. It could be any number of types of prehistoric burial styles.

What seems to be in no doubt though is that it is in fact a Megalithic burial mound representative of either the Neolithic or Bronze age. Without archaeological investigation we will never know. 

With the paucity of these kind of artifacts in Laois I find it strange that little by way of archaeological investigation is ever undertaken in an effort to discover more about the ancient inhabitants of Laois.

It is also covered in grasses, moss and soil making full identification difficult. There are no obvious kerbstones that I noticed.

Partial depressions on the Cairn suggest collapsed chambers or Cists, it's hard to tell. My photographs are poor and can't convey the huge volume of loose stone used in its construction. 

Perhaps hundreds of tons of material was used in its construction, its difficult to judge its full extent at the present time.

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If you travel north through Luggacurren and on to Clopook you will come across the ruins of a medieval Church. Sited on top of a hill and easily visible behind the Church is the Bronze age Hillfort of Clopook. 

This is a multi period site which was used over and over again. It is also the location of one of the few caves to be found in Laois.

A local community group were previously unsuccessful in their efforts to purchase the site for the benefit of Laois.

Not far from here is the Standing Stone of Clopook which was reputedly half dropped by a Giant who was trying to fling it towards Carlow direction from the Rock of Dunamase. He was competing against another Giant, as Giants often do, in a Stone throwing contest.

Standing Stones are believed to generally date to the Bronze age. The Stone at Clopook is difficult to find in the extreme. I also called the farmer in advance to rubber stamp my searching.

Pictured below is a lone photograph of the Hillfort at Clopook from a distance and several photographs of the Standing Stone of Clopook.

Keep the Wheels turning.