Rothar Routes

Cycle routes & pilgrim journeys in Ireland and Europe …..

Posts tagged ‘Carlow cycle routes’

Rathgeran Rock Art

This fabulous example of mysterious Rock Art is not easy locate but is well worth the effort!

No better way to clear the head and no better way to realise how unfit you are than to do a little hillwalking!

Located on a hillside off the Ballymurphy – Kiltealy road, a bit of a scramble will bring you up on the hillside and you must do a bit of searching to locate the exact location.

Rathgeran

Here is a lovely video clip but the light unfortunately wasn’t quite right to highlight the eight concentric circles on this large granite slab.

St Mullins, Ecclesiastical Village of south Carlow

Wedged in between counties Kilkenny and Wexford at the very southern tip of County Carlow and located between the Blackstairs and Mount Brandon on the banks of the River Barrow, St Mullins is a national treasure.

‘Tigh Moling’ as it is more properly called in Irish, was founded by the great Irish saint, Moling.

The monastery was founded in the 7th Century and thankfully substantial sections are still clearly evident today.Trinity College Library is home to the priceless ancient Book of Moling in which there is a plan of the monastery – the earliest known plan of an Irish Monastery. The ‘Gobán Saor’, a legendary Irish craftsman is said to have assisted in the building of the monastery which consisted of four churches, a round tower and numerous crosses. It was a very important early Christian site that was twice plundered by the Vikings travelling inland along the River Barrow in their long boats.

The graveyard contains the graves of many United Irishmen who died in the 1798 rebellion which are often marked with green shields.

Just below the Church on the eastern side is St Moling’s Well and people came here for a cure during the Great Plague.

St Mullins also has a most impressive Norman Motte and Bailey which would have used for protection of the village below.

St Mullins is traditionally on of the great pilgrimage sites in Ireland and people came here on the annual Patter Day which is the first Sunday before 25th July to take of the waters’. There used be two pattern days, 17th June and 25th July (feast of St James). The Pattern still attracts huge crowds and pilgrims drink the healing waters of the well after the blessing by the priest and then a procession to the cemetery for mass at the Penal Altar. It’s a great social occasion too and there are many stalls and amusements to entertain the visitors.

Leaving the village and heading in the direction of Carrigleade is another important site associated with St Mullins that celebrates one of his great achievements, Teampaill na Bo. It was a small church built in thanksgiving to Moling who freed the Leinster men from paying an unjust tax, The Borumean Tribute, to the High King of Ireland. This was an oppressive tax consisting of 5,000 cows, 5,000 hogs, 5,000 sheep, 5,000 vessels of bronze and to cap it off 5,000 ozs of silver! The site has a sad past too as it was used to bury unbaptised children. It is a very spiritual place to drop in to and say a prayer for those poor unfortunate children. 

St Mullins is  one of my favourite cycling destinations and I usually reach it by cycling along the Barrow Way. I have included a route from St Mullins in my book, ‘Cycling South Leinster’ called ‘On the Trail of the Saints’ which starts in St Mullins and visits Inistioge, Graiguenamanagh, Ullard and Borris. St Mullins is also on the longest route in the book, ‘Follow Me Up to Carlow’!

Here is a link to a great local history that i have just come upon: St Mullins a Local History

Gods Country!

Ballytiglea – Graiguenamangh – Ullard Loop

A blue sky heralded ideal conditions for a jaunt along the Barrow this morning; unfortunately by the time all the chores were completed it had clouded over somewhat. But then again there is no bad time for a jaunt along the River Barrow!

Today’s route was a short loop, just 19kms, starting at Ballytiglea Bridge. We – my 59 year old good friend Tommy Wogan (recently reacquainted with the benefits of cycling) and myself, continued on as far as Graiguenamanagh where we crossed the bridge and visited Duiske Abbey. Headed uphill along a quiet back road that passes the ruins of Ullard Church, not far from our starting point at Ballytiglea. The Church at Ullard was founded by St Fiacre in the sixth century, patron saint of Gardeners and Taxi Drivers! Fiacre was one of our great missionary saints who is revered in Meaux and Brie in France There is a handball alley created off the back of the Church! Ullard is a beautiful Church ruin, worth stopping at.

I would highly recommend this for an autumn cycle; the trees along the river are a feast of browns, yellows and reds. The Track was in good condition, though we did suffer a cloud burst and the surface became soft but passable.

The road out of Graigue climbs a little but the views over the river and towards the Blackstairs are immense.

Barrow and the Blackstairs

Cycling the Barrow Track

Ballykeenan Lock

Meandering River

Approaching Clashganny

Under the Beech Tree

Borris Lock

Boat Wreck

You never know what you will see out on your Bike!

One of the great advantages of cycling is you see so much more detail and have the chance to converse with people you bump into on your route.

Today was interesting.

Warning signs have been erected along the Barrow about the presence of crayfish plague in the river

Warning – Crayfish plague present

I got speaking to a couple of anglers, up past ‘the Sugar Factory’, and asked them had they any luck. They had caught a lot of pike – one of them 10 1/2 lb weight! What was interesting was they said the heads of the pike were scratched and they had ‘boils’ on the faces. They reckoned this was caused by the crayfish plague. It’s a serious threat to the native white clawed crayfish and the ecology of the Barrow system.

The fishermen were very concerned about it; it is probably too late now that the invasion has begun.

A little further on I met a guy with a big plastic sack and a paper picker. He was telling me he brings the dog for a walk and always picks up any discarded rubbish. Should have got his name. He’s a Dub judging by his accent who moved here 20 years ago and loves the Barrow Track.

In their own way all are guardians of this great resource.

Heron at Knockbeg

There seems to have been an explosion in heron numbers in recent years; every heron seems to have its own territory beside the many weirs along the river. Lovely elegant birds.

Autumn is a great time to visit the river – the banks of the river are lined with trees and are a feast of colour this time of year.

Autumn colours on the Barrow track

My route home took me through New Oak Estate and some lovely decorative gardens caught my eye! Well done to the residents of New Oak who have the area in tip top shape.

Flower Head

Flower Power

Fairy Garden

Carlow Wheelers

 

Sunrise Cycle along the Barrow Track

An early morning cycle, starting at sunrise, along the Barrow Track between Goresbridge and Clashganny was a great start to County Final Day!

Joe Sheppard, now domiciled in Manchester, a keen cyclist on UK towpaths and Sustrans routes, was looking forward to cycling along a riverbank as distinct from the linear towpaths that criss cross the UK.

Of good GAA stock, the conversations were wide ranging – from Ruislip to County Final Day; from Mental Awareness to Social Housing and Brexit; from Mary Teresa Kelly’s newsagents to out of town developments!

We don’t appreciate how much it means to ex pats to see Carlow doing well on the inter county scene. Joe and his son drove from Manchester to Rusilip to cheer on the Scallionaters in the Qualifiers during the summer. It was his sons’ first game of gaelic football and he was hooked. He marvelled at Brendan Murphy’s performance in particular – ‘ like a ballet dancer’ was his description of his movement and his agility.

Joe has been following the debate about the Blueway from afar, and he was initially all for it until he began reading up on the debate going on around the proposal. His position was changing before he came over based on first hand accounts of those who utilise these wonderful green linear nature reserve that we have hidden away so well in south Carlow.

After his cycle today Joe compared the route with what he has experienced in the UK. The UK routes benefit from hubs where bike repair / hire shops and coffee shops dot the routes attracting cyclists out into the countryside. The Barrow obviously does not have those key facilities but he maintained there was nothing to compare with the Barrow in the UK. He considers it a unique trail and would strongly be an advocate for minimal development. he found the route very passable – even though the grass was wet and long in places this morning. Interesting to hear the views of a very experienced touring cyclist from across the pond.

Here are a few photos of this morning:

Comorants take flight

How many Cormorants?

Neck and Neck!!

Cormorants on the Barrow

Dermot and Joe at the Mountain River

Cycling at Clashganny

Does anything taste nicer than a sambo on a cycle / hike?

Cormorant Rock

Heron in flight

Joe Sheppard, Manchester and Dermot along the Banks of the Barrow

Dermot at Mountain River