St. Dabheoc's Seat and the old pilgrim road
Dublin Core
Title
St. Dabheoc's Seat and the old pilgrim road
Subject
Lough Derg--Landmarks--Pilgrim Road--Dabheoc's Seat
Description
"To the west of St. Brigid's Chair, and about two furlongs from the shore of the lake, but somewhat further from the chair, is situated on the very summit of a mountain a carn-shaped eminence, on the summit of which is St. Dabheoc's Seat..."
Creator
Daniel O'Connor, 1843-1919
Source
Daniel O’Connor, Lough Derg and Its Pilgrimages: With Map and Illustrations, pp. 58-9
Publisher
J. Dollard, Dublin
Date
1879
Contributor
Digitised by archive.org, sponsored by Harvard University
Rights
Public domain
Format
Monograph
Language
English
Type
Pilgrim handbook
Text
Identifier
DD_0029
Coverage
|12|-875433.2848282|7283722.6427942|osm
54.596797,-7.859638
54.596797,-7.859638
References
http://archive.org/details/loughdergandits00ocogoog
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
"To the west of St. Brigid's Chair, and about two furlongs from the shore of the lake, but somewhat further from the chair, is situated on the very summit of a mountain a carn-shaped eminence, on the summit of which is St. Dabheoc's Seat, which has been already described in this work. Writing on Templecarn churchyard we have already seen that the ancient roadway to Lough Derg passed by this old churchyard. And so it did. This ancient road, called by O'Donovan a via strata is given on the Ordnance Survey Map of the place. At the present day it is very difficult to trace the course of this road, owing to the fact that it has been disused for at least between two or three hundred years ; during this time heath and bog having accumulated over it where it led through the mountains, and, where it wound its course along the western shore of the lake, the waves having more effectively destroyed almost every trace of it. Traces of this roadway may yet be descried over the summit of Portneillinwore hill (which is convenient to Saints' Island), also in a few places along the shore of the lake, particularly at Portcreevy bay, where it quitted the lake and led on through a mountain valley towards Templecarn and Pettigoe. I have been told that at certain parts of this roadway, where the overlying bog has been cutaway, large stepping-stones, arranged in regular order, have been brought to light, which leaves us to conjecture that these were hollow parts of the roads that may have been partly flooded.
I have also learned that where this roadway led through the tortuous defiles of the mountains between Pettigoe and Portcreevy, the pedestal of an ancient way-side cross may yet be seen ; and that the ground immediately surrounding this pedestal is closely paved with stones which are worn smooth; the supposition being that the pilgrims here knelt and offered up a votive prayer either on approaching or quitting the island." (pp. 58-9)
I have also learned that where this roadway led through the tortuous defiles of the mountains between Pettigoe and Portcreevy, the pedestal of an ancient way-side cross may yet be seen ; and that the ground immediately surrounding this pedestal is closely paved with stones which are worn smooth; the supposition being that the pilgrims here knelt and offered up a votive prayer either on approaching or quitting the island." (pp. 58-9)
Original Format
Monograph
Citation
Daniel O'Connor, 1843-1919, “St. Dabheoc's Seat and the old pilgrim road,” Digital Derg: A Deep Map, accessed March 28, 2024, https://digitalderg.eu/items/show/29.