All in a Morning’s Cycle
Headed out this morning for Tullow with the intention of taking in a training session of a visiting county but that didn’t materialise. But the journey proved rewarding in other ways!
Travelling by bike makes it so much better for sight seeing, stopping and observing and today was a short route that packed in a lot of interesting views and history!
The first stopping point was at Grangeford to photograph the memorial to the 2006 World Ploughing Championships held on the Nolan farm. I remember it well. It was combined with the National Ploughing Championships which drew massive crowds as always.
Not much further down the road is a very important location in Irish history. How often do we pass Leamaneh Graveyard at Castlemore without realising the significant history attached with this area? For it is was along this road that Fr John Murphy ‘of old Kilcormac’ was captured by yeomen in 1798 and to then face a barbaric death and treatment after a military court-martial. Fr Murphy was ordained n secret during the Penal times and went to Seville for further studied. On his return he took part in the United Irishman rebellion in 1798. His last journey in County Carlow was after the Battle of Kilcumney (on the road to Goresbridge from Bagenalstown). The rebels were surrounded and outnumbered and eventually retreated in the direction of the Scullogue Gap. Fr Murphy branched off on a different route that took him through Kiloughternane, Ballymurphy, Rosedelig. He celebrated his last mass in Myshall before moving on towards Castlemore, Tullow where he was captured by yeomen. Brought to Tullow, courtmartialed and executed. His body was subject to horrific mutilation with his head placed on a spike on a railing and his body burned. He is immortalised in the ballad of Boolavogue:
‘And the yeos at Tullow took Fr. Murphy
And burnt his body upon the rack
God grant you glory, brave Fr.Murphy
And open heaven to all your men
The cause that called you may call tomorrow
In another fight for the green again’
Continued into Tullow, crossing the Slaney, Carlow’s second river and turning left in the square just before the statue of Fr Murphy. This road passes out by Fr Leo Park, which had been my initial destination, but I continued on out along the lovely quiet road through Ballymurphy and on to the Hacketstown road. A left turn took me back down to the Slaney
and back in the Carlow direction. Taking a right turn at Killerig for Castledermot I diverted to Ducketts Grove. Whether you approach Ducketts Grove from Castledermot side or Carlow side the Castle dominates the landscape. One can only imagine what to must have been like in its heyday. The family home of the Ducketts who held a mere 20,000 acres in the 18th and 19th century. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1933 and fell into ruins. It was acquired by Carlow County Council some years ago and they have done extensive works on developing the gardens and the centre as a visitor attraction.
I was on the home leg now with one final stop off point – Europe’s largest Dolmen at Browneshill. The capstone weighs in at a considerable 100 tonnes! How did they erect it? It’s now a major tourist attraction for visitors in the area.
Here is the link tot he route:
A nice spin on a Sunday morning.
