Historical and Descriptive Notices of the City of Cork, and Its Vicinity; Gougaun Barra, Glengariff, and Killarney (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1839 edition. Excerpt: ... Nor was the locality selected for the abbey in its neighbourhood, one less suitable for its object, or less calculated to satisfy the most ardent lover of the beauties of nature. The old Ecclesiastics, in their choice of this site, displayed their usual good taste and discrimination; a happier spot the whole Eogan-' ac/tt of Lochlene could not present for their adoption. A short walk from the entrance of (Jloghereen brings us into the immediate neighbourhood of this venerable ruin. Its original name Irelough, (i. e. the building at the lake, ) is that by which it is still known in the vernacular of the country. It stands on a scarcely perceptible eminence, on the north side of the demesne road, closely environed by a dense mass of foliage, which conceals it from the eve of the visiter, until he stands nearly beside it. A palisade, which has defied the strong denunciations of G. N. Smith, partly cuts off its precincts from the other portions of the demesne grounds. Its "grey, but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells," yet continue in excellent preservation; a beautiful memorial of the piety, the skill, and the taste of the Irish of the middle ages; and a shrine to which the step and the wishes of many an admiring and venerating pilgrim have continued to be directed for centuries, alike in its prosperity, as in its decay, without cessation or interruption; whilst time has but the more endeared it to the population of the district, of which it is not, in their minds, the least cherished glory. Prior to the 12th century, a church existed here, which was destroyed in 11 92 by fire. The present abbey was erected on its site, in 1340, according to the annuls of the Four Masters; in which it is recorded for that year, that "the monastery of...