Saint Manchan's Shrine

A few spins this week and one long spin took me out past Boher in Offaly.

I took the opportunity to drop in to the Church and see Saint Manchan's Shrine again.

The Harry Clark windows in the Church are beautiful.

Keep the wheels turning.

Timahoe Round Tower, Laois

A quick spin this evening past Timahoe in Laois.

I've not been cycling much this past few weeks,  I just seem too busy with one thing or another.

It was great to be out turning the pedals.

I took a few photos at Timahoe of the beautiful Round Tower and the village seemed as neat and tidy as ever, a pleasure to visit at any time.

This is the site of an ancient monastery founded by Saint Mochua and is well worth taking the time to visit if you are ever in Laois.

Cecil Day Lewis

A short spin this evening took me past Portlaoise and Stradbally, then up over the Windy Gap before turning left and back towards home through the tiny Hamlet of Ballintubbert.

I stopped for a while at the small Church there, Saint Brigid's, where I took a photo of the plaque in memory of Cecil Day Lewis.

Cecil Day Lewis was British Poet Laureate between 1968/72. He was also the father of well known (and superb) actor Daniel Day Lewis.

It's nice to see him remembered at his birthplace of Ballintubbert in Laois.

There was a small Well at the rear of the Church with crystal clear water. Almost all ecclesiastical settlements would have been founded originally close to natural springs which could supply clean fresh water and this fact explains why we find so many Wells associated with old Church's, Abbeys, and Ruins. We generally know them today as various "Holy Wells".

Turbo Day on Zwift

Looking forward to a spin today but torrential rain put paid to that plan.

Cue a session on Zwift in a spare room with a bike and power meter...... I must be going soft, I couldn't face the rain. In my defence it was raining so heavily it was probably dangerous to go out on a bike. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

The only problem was I could clearly see all the wheels I've not fixed yet.........

The Heath, Portlaoise

Just a few spins this week. I passed the Heath near Portlaoise a couple of times.

There are at least 14 Ring Barrows on the Heath but a lot are hard to spot due to Heather and weed growth. One is very well kept and maintained.

The Heath is an important heritage site. It was the site of habitation and burial throughout the Bronze and Iron Age and has been in continuous use into modern contemporary times.

There's an old Church ruin with a stoup (font) by the Heath.

Treacy's Pub and Restaurant is a great spot for a bite to eat and is on the edge of the Heath. I've had a couple of nice meals here....

Many Bronze and Iron age artifacts were found in the area when archaeologists were conducting surveys prior to the construction of the nearby motorway.

Limerick - Kerry Spin

In Limerick and Kerry recently for a Cycle. I managed to snap the rear gear cable but had a spare.

Unfortunately I couldn't see where to insert it into the STI lever so I just carried on without replacing it.

Cue a further 165 Kms with no gears. Luckily enough there weren't many hills but it was hard going into the wind and rain around Kerry.

I met a friendly Horse at Askeaton Franciscan Friary in Limerick. I managed to visit Adare Castle and Castle Desmond in Newcastle West the previous day and passed Listowel Castle on the spin itself.

 I also visited Saint Nicholas Church of Ireland in Adare, a former Augustinian Friary founded in 1315. The cloisters are fully covered and beautiful while the whole building was very interesting to wander around.

Adare Franciscan Friary is a ruined building on Adare Golf course and they kindly gave me permission to visit the site, it's a beautiful old ruin, well worth visiting.

Adare Manor has 5 Ogham Stones located in the grounds but there was a function on so I couldn't gain access to view them which was a pity. Perhaps a reason to visit on another day.

There is also the lovely Trinitarian Church in Adare and a Columbarium.

Nearby Rathkeale also has an old ruined Abbey which I dropped in to see while in the area.

The famous Sophie Peirce, Irish Aviator and Sportswoman was from Newcastle West in Limerick and there is a commemorative Plaque in her memory in the local Square.

Grand Canal and River Barrow

A short spin today and the weather had picked up nicely from the previous chilly "Summer" weeks.

I passed over the River Barrow at the Borness near Mountmellick and again another 3 times going to and from Portarlington.

I also passed over the Grand Canal Aquaduct at Monasterevin. Not a swimmer in sight but a nice spin on the bicycle nonetheless. The Park at Monasterevin looked inviting in the Sun and well kept and maintained. 

Perhaps a picnic for another day.

Link here on the Canal:

Irish Waterways History/Canal at Monasterevin

Kells, County Meath

A few photo's from a trip to Kells in Meath at the weekend.

 

 Traditionally every year for the last few decades a member of the Church is tasked to go to Dublin and ask the Provost of Trinity College to give them back The Book of Kells. As you might have guessed so far they've had no luck.

A nice area with lots of interesting things to see and do. 

The Spire of Lloyd is just outside the town and Trojan work has been done to turn this area into a well kept amenity.

I'll post a full page on Kells at a later date.....

Mountmellick Post Office

I've managed to get in a good few cycles this last few days.

Unfortunately my pictures today depict a sad but regular occurence. It's the recently closed local Post Office in Mountmellick.

Located just off the main square for who knows how long the Post Office has shut it doors and moved to a new location on the edge of town beside a modern Retail Centre.

Despite the obvious local objections, large Supermarkets in rural areas seem intent on closing the local Post Offices and moving them into their sphere of influence.

The small shop in the Town Square has recently undergone a facelift under new ownership and closing the nearby Post Office certainly will not help sustain rural towns and villages nor business's located in those same towns and villages.

The larger Supermarket Chains are doing a brisk enough business without necessitating the relocation of essential services towards their business's. If progress necessitates the "stripping bare" of small villages then there's not much future for local economies in rural Ireland.

As you can see from the photographs it certainly doesn't add to the local "ambience" at all.

Postscript: The little shop on the Square is now finally closed down. I think a shop selling phone covers and vaping accessories has now opened there instead.

Post Offices all across the Country are being relocated in Shops and Supermarkets supplied by Musgroves, a huge distributor.

Small town businesses haven't a hope up against this type of assimilation.

I guess rural Ireland can sing for it.....

Politicians seem to be of little use either on this issue.

 

Lugacurren Megalithic Tomb, Laois

A short spin today to locate the Megalithic Tomb at Lugacurren. This tomb is either a Bronze age Cist (Kist) or part of a larger complex of several Cists which have since been destroyed. In the 1800's it was surrounded by other Cist's and several standing stones.

None of these other relics survive today which is a great shame. When I got here (about a Kilometre uphill from the junction at Lugacurren) I wandered up and down the road for quite a while looking for the tomb. It was invisible and buried deep beneath brambles and nettles. 

I spent 20 minutes pulling weeds and Ivy off it. It is badly neglected and unsigned unfortunately.

 Considering the scarcity of Megalithic structures in Laois I have no idea why it isn't looked after and signposted. This structure may well be over 4000 years old.

 My cycle also took in Kilmurray just behind Chicken Byrne hill where I came across a 16th Century Church ruin in someone's garden, very unusual.

 Coming from Kilmurray towards the Heath I came across a Bullaun stone at the roadside by the entrance to a house. This particular stone was covered in moss and Ivy which I cleared away to get a photograph. A huge stone, it looked quite heavy and was an interesting find. I don't know of its history in the area or what it was used for.

 I later passed Rathdaire Church (Church of the Ascension) which was built as a memorial Church by Cornelia Adair for "Black Jack" John George Adair, a most unloved character to say the least. This Church is described as Hiberno Romanesque and was built in 1883.

The detail in the doorway is outstanding.
It looks like a mixture of Scandanavian Urnes and Celtic La Téne at the Doorway and Arch.

Adair built Glenveagh Castle in Donegal and by all accounts seems to have been the most hated man in that County for the forced evictions of his tenants. Mind you, he seems to have been a controversial figure wherever he went although it's difficult to cast an unbiased judgement on a historical figure from the past. His legacy here in Laois is the stunning little Church in Rathdaire.

 A memorial stone for him in Donegal was destroyed and at Ballybrittas Laois, close to the Church, Belgrove House, an Adair family residence (built between 1835/40) was burned to the ground in 1887.

Keep the wheels turning....

The Heath, Laois

A spin last week saw me cycling through the Heath near Portlaoise.

This area is grassy commonage and covered in Bronze Age Ring Barrows and Iron Age Ring Fort remains (Raths).

Most are difficult to make out as they are covered in gorse and scrub. The Ring Barrow just up the road from the Primary School is particularly easy to spot as it has been cleared of gorse.  It also looks great. Barrows are Bronze Age burial sites.

There's an interesting old stone building near the golf course and I have no idea what it was used for. It doesn't seem to be listed in the Architectural Inventory.

Near to the Heath is the ruin of The Heath Church which has a nice font (stoup) on the brickwork. The Church ruin is a "T" shape and the grounds are well kept.

The archaeology of the Heath spans thousands of years and it's a pity there's not more done to highlight the area and its long history.

The Heath in Irish : An Fraoch Mór.