Cashel Cross and the Battle of Barnaglitty

The Battle of Barnaglitty

A spin by Portlaoise and out to Cashel Cross on the Ballyroan road today before heading for home.

I got a few snaps of the memorial to the Battle of Barnaglitty (Pass of the Plumes) and the Druids Stones.

I wondered why it was called the Pass of the Plumes. Seemingly this is in reference to all the Plumed Helmets which littered the battlefield afterwards....

I later discovered that in 2011 a well preserved "bog body" was recovered from nearby Cashel bog which was carbon dated to around 2000 B.C.

On the way home I couldn't resist another trip into the simple but beautiful Straboe Medieval Church near Shaen.... It's a hidden treasure. Someone has done a lot of good work to preserve what remains on the site. The Cross slab is a nice touch.

Later I rode on Zwift for an hour to check my connections and readings from the power meter with the readings from Zwift and Garmin and to update the firmware. It wasn't half as interesting...................

Aghaboe Abbey, Laois

Aghaboe Abbey 

 

Yesterday was a short spin to Agahaboe Abbey and Saint Canice's in Laois.

I managed to get all four seasons in a day.

Today  the 21st Century technology will get a look in with a Power Meter and Zwift.

  I was reintroduced today to Zwift by way of an FTP Test (Functional Threshold Power).
If you've never seen Zwift it's a kind of virtual cycling world.

By using a power meter on a bike I can get a reasonable workout by working off a percentage of my FTP depending on what type of workout I'm doing.

Zwift takes some of the boredom out of indoor training however if you compare a Photo of Aghaboe Abbey with a Photo of Zwift I think you'll agree the Abbey is much more interesting.

If you've not seen Zwift before it basically turns you into a CGI cyclist but measures Speed Power and Cadence pretty accurately if used in conjunction with either a Power Meter or some type of Smart Trainer.

One of these days I'll tidy up and fix those broken wheels......

Clopook in Laois

Clopook and the Boreens

 

I think the camera might have been overused today. A short cycle today took me from Mountmellick and out through Emo village and Coolbanagher near Emo Court and then over into Stradbally via Chicken Byrne hill.

I climbed the Windy Gap passing Oughaval on my right and descended by going left onto a boreen before emerging a while later further down back onto the N80.

Within moments I was off the N80 and back onto boreens heading through Clopook past the Hill Fort, through Timogue past two old Lime Kilns, Ratheniska past Dysart Enos 18th Century Church then back across the main road and up past the Rock of Dunamase via more boreens and into the Heath. 

From the Heath it was boreens again and then past Shaen back to Mountmellick.

There's a recurring theme here ...... boreens.These byroads seem much safer than busy main roads and more often than not boreens and the road less travelled will reveal a hidden surprise to me.

 

On the short spin there was enough history and sights to keep me occupied for a day if I had the time to spare. 

 

Wheels can be expensive and I've broken what I consider  an expensive (to me) Campagnolo Zonda rear wheel once.

My choice for general road use is now the Shimano RS 010. They're inexpensive and I think you could hit this wheel with a sledgehammer and it would still run straight and true.

With a 20 second wheel swap I'm ready to hit the boreens, saving the good wheel for another day.

 

A cycle along the byroads and boreens of Laois is generally nice and quiet with few cars to be seen. It's also thoroughly enjoyable and very scenic.

Russian Orthodox Church, Laois

Russian Orthodox Church, Laois.

 

A short spin today over to Stradbally and out the far side past the little Russian Orthodox Church. I met the Patron in the grounds and had a short chat and took a few photo's. 

 

Lots of wind but nice and sunny with very high temperatures for January so that's a real bonus when out cycling early in the year. It looked to all intents like a summer day.

The Church is named after Saint Colman. It is called the Parish of Saint Colman, Oughaval but is located on the R427 heading from Stradbally towards Ballyroan about a Kilometre or so out of town.

Brittas Castle in Clonaslee

Brittas Castle.

 

 

A short spin today to Clonaslee and back. After a hard session on the Turbo yesterday it seemed sensible to go for an easy relaxed spin... 

I got a few photographs of the remains of Brittas Castle while I was there. Not much left of it unfortunately.

Built in 1869 for Major-General Francis Plunkett Dunne it was destroyed in a fire in 1942.

 

 

 It looks like there will be ongoing work to build anew around the remains. Some work has been done at the moment. I believe at one stage there were plans to make it into a small hotel. It is in private ownership.

Charleville Castle. Stunning Gothic Castle, Tullamore.

Charleville Castle.

Today I headed for Charleville Castle, Tullamore in Offaly. Follow the R421 out of Tullamore (town) past the County Council offices in the Mucklagh/Blueball direction and you'll see it signposted on the right about a Kilometre outside town.

There's a badly rutted forest road up to the Castle so it's not a spin for your best Carbon bike although a road bike with robust wheels is fine. That's what I used today.

Charleville is a "Gothic" style Castle and it is hugely imposing close up. Pictures fail to do it justice. 

It was built for Charles William Bury, 1st Earl of Charleville between 1800 and 1812 and is referred to as "the finest example of Gothic Revival architecture in Ireland". After viewing it close up I can completely agree, it is stunning.

The Castle is run by Charleville Castle Heritage Trust and its volunteers and I presume upkeep and restoration work is ongoing. I didn't go inside on this occasion so I can't comment on the interior just yet but if its anything like the outside it should be a treat.

It appears as if there are ownership and legal issues at play here as to the reason why this Castle hasn't been given more care and attention. This one of a kind site deserves to be centre stage. It should be a showcase for Tullamore with national exposure. It's up there with the best of them. A beautiful building which with the right funding could be an international attraction.

There was a sign on the front door (Feb/2019) : Tours @ 12, 2, and 4 p.m. €8 per adult. I'll be back for the tour another day... Looking forward to it. Phone in advance to check if open.

If you are at the gates shown in the picture you are on the wrong side. Lynagh is also signposted here but don't head for Lynagh. Go through the roundabouts in the direction of the town and you'll get there.

Charleville Castle Website

Discover Ireland Charleville Castle

Murphy's Law

The bike got a puncture today wheeling it from the house into the garden !!!  

This was quickly followed by a sudden downpour..... Murphy's Law..... I ditched the bike and hopped on the turbo instead.

Friar versus Monk

While visiting and cycling around various sites and Abbeys I noticed that some were described as Monasteries while others were called Friaries.

Naturally enough I decided to find out what lay in the distinction between both so I'll give a quick overview of what I found.

Monks are generally "cloistered". They chiefly live, work, pray and study, within the walls of their Monasteries. They are mainly unordained and are not priests (though some are). The head Monk, the Abbot is usually an ordained Monk (Priest) in order to be able to provide mass and the sacrements.

Friars are not confined to their place of residence and in fact more often live within communities or travel around in order to help the poor or spread the gospel depending on the ethos and mission of the particular order to which they belong. Friars are mendicants (they hold vows of poverty and rely on donations for survival and day to day living), a tradition which started to take a bigger hold on the christian world in the 12th and 13th centuries as people became disillusioned with the monastic traditions and the seemingly distanced and often rich world of the Monasteries.

There are literally pages and pages of information on rites, ordination, vows and orders, but as far as I am aware those are the basic differences between Monks and Friars. Hope it helps.

Portarlington on an Icy day

Portarlington.

A spin through Portarlington today quickly followed by getting back onto main roads in an effort to avoid the icy conditions.

I stopped in the Square at the 1798 monument for the local United Irishmen who were executed there and followed this with a quick stop to photograph the sadly broken and graffiti covered Hartpole effigy in the Park.

The effigy tomb was originally located in Carlow as Robert Hartpole was at sometime in the mid 1500's "The Constable of Carlow." This once fine effigy is in a particularly bad state unfortunately.

Luckily I noticed nearby a little granite memorial dedicated to the signatories of the 1916 proclamation of Independence. Its a small memorial but beautifully made, worth a look if you are passing. It was erected in 2016 and is a nice addition to the Park.