October 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DALKEY - Deilginis ‘Thorn Island’ COMMUNITY COUNCIL Irish Heritage Town "Ireland's longest-running voluntary community newsletter" First Published April 1974 NEWSLETTER No 512 (Volume 26) Deireadh Fómhair (October) 2020 Sunrise from Dalkey Hill Photo: Michael Ryan ❖ DaLkEy caSTLE & hERiTagE cENTRE upDaTE ❖ Dalkey castle Tours are back in action and preparing for schools to visit in the autumn. The Newsletter: This month, the article will concentrate on the oldest part of the site here: St. Begnet’s Church and Graveyard. St. Begnet’s church was founded around the 7th century, in common with many Early Christian churches. Originally, the church was a wooden structure but was later rebuilt from stone. The majority of the surviving building is Anglo-Norman and is built with granite. The church served the Catholic community until the Reformation of Henry VIII when there was great upheaval. Over the centuries, it served both Catholic and Protestant congregations. The Church was reported to be ‘ruinous’ by 1630. The parish was united with Monkstown in 1689 and St. Begnet’s fell into disuse. The Nave is the oldest part of the church building. Incorporated into the north wall of the nave are two features which were part of the earlier church. One is a small round-headed window on the interior and the other is a stone with a cross picked into the surface on the exterior. The Twin Belfry dates to the 13th or 14th century. The bellcote contained two bells. Access to the belfry was made by climbing up the outside and the bells were struck by hand. The chancel and chancel arch were added at the turn of the 13th century. A chancel is the space around an altar and is traditionally built at the east end of a church. The Dalkey chancel arch is a fine example of craftsmanship. St. Begnet’s graveyard: It is said that up to 2,000 people were buried in this small plot of land over the centuries. The majority are in unmarked graves. in 1860 after the Famine, when the population of Ireland was decimated by starvation and disease there were calls to close St. Begnet’s to new burials. One report noted: Such a number of corpses are buried therein that in many instances it is not possible to place more than a few inches of covering over the coffins of the dead . the air for some distances around said burial ground is frequently most offensively impure – caused by the gaseous exhalations from the said burial ground. Most recent burial: Nonetheless, burials continued until 1930, when Anne Kavanagh became the last person to be buried here. Her family have visited her grave on a number of occasions. gravestones: Although the majority of burials in St. Begnet’s Graveyard are in unmarked graves, there are a number of interesting headstones. Some of these give us information about the people who lived in Dalkey at the time. The oldest headstone with a visible date is from 1738. Records say that someone named ‘Cornelius’ is buried here in the south western area outside the church. Roe’s Stonemasons identified the many types of stone used in the graveyard: Dalkey Granite, Black Stone, Limestone, Portland Stone, Slate, Sandstone and Wicklow Granite. Dalkey granite is recognisable from its red-brown hue. Many of the stones with no inscriptions are of Dalkey granite. The type of headstone and the finish thereon informs us of the wealth or otherwise of the family. For example, one stone used in the graveyard is white Sicilian marble, which was very expensive to source. If the finish is smooth on both sides, it indicates a wealthy family. When the back of the headstone remains rough, it shows that the family could only afford to hire a stonemason to work on one side of the stone. 2 Actors from Deilg Inis as Archers on the Dalkey Castle Tour Photo: John Fahy Each Living history tour travels through St. Begnet’s Church and Graveyard. The archer delights in pointing out the yew tree as archers of yore used the pliable wood from the yew to fashion their bows. Dalkey Castle Guides impart the history of the Church and Graveyard. Tour times and booking details on www.dalkeycastle.com Margaret Dunne, Manager, Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre ❖ DaLkEy cOMMuNiTy cOuNciL ❖ During these difficult times DCC has been continuing to work on behalf of the community. Small meetings in accordance with Covid regulations are taking place and representations with DLR in conjunction with the business people and residents regarding the changes/upgrades in the town. As there will be no annual envelope collection this year DCC depends on your support to carry out this work and contributions can be made online to: account: Dalkey community council Bic:aiBkiE2D iBaN:iE63aiBk93353817535009 The monthly newsletter has been produced and each month has been delivered where possible to the residents. There are areas in Dalkey where we need help with the distribution of the newsletter. We are particularly looking for help on the following roads: Harbour Road, Bartra Rock, Dalkey Avenue (upper), Ard Mhuire Park, Killiney Road and Barnhill Road. If you have a spare hour once a month we would love to hear from you. Your support helps us to continue our work for our community. Please email: [email protected] or check out www.dalkeycommunitycouncil.com 3 Dalkey Carpentryb Services ● 1st & 2nd Fix Carpentry service ● Kitchens and Wardrobes Fitted ● Solid and Laminate Flooring ● Building maintenance service ● Cabinet Making ● Joinery ● Free Quotations ● Fully insured and Qualified ● 20 Years Experience ● Local Tradesman Contact. Daniel O’Connor bb Mob . 0834562665 b Email.b [email protected] www.dnoconnor1979.wixsite.com/carpenter HAMMOND & ASSOCIATES SOLICITORS & NOTARIES PUBLIC 23 Upper Albert Road, Glenageary, Co. Dublin SPECIAL RATES ON: • Residential Property Sales and Purchases From €2,000 per transaction in total • Re-Mortgaging €1,400 in total • Wills • Probate PHONE: +353-1-2800990 • Enduring powers of attorney FAX: +353-1-2800882 PRINCIPAL: Ms. Leslie Hammond EMAIL: [email protected] 4 ❖ cOFFEE WiTh jOhN huME ❖ In 2010 I qualified for the ROI Senior Smart Pass. So, along with my Free Travel and this Pass I could travel the 32 counties of Ireland. In August of that year my wife and I decided to travel to Northern Ireland for a short holiday. We travelled on the 2nd of August on the Enterprise to Belfast’s Victoria Station. Next door to the station is the Europa Hotel where we had booked a one night stay. We arrived in the early afternoon and later in the day did a bus tour of the City. We visited the Falls Road and the Shankill areas and then we travelled past Harland and Wolff shipyards and saw the giant cranes nicknamed Samson and Goliath in the Belfast docks area. They are now landmark structures of the City. The bus then took us to view Stormont Parliament building which looked very impressive on a hill at the end of a long driveway on the Stormont Estate. Then back to the city through leafy Malone Road! Next day, the 3rd of August, we boarded the train to Derry where we had booked a 2 night stay at the Da Vinci Ramada Hotel on Culmore Road in the city. The following day, Wednesday, we walked and stood on the Walls of Derry, visited a historical museum of the Orange Order and stood at the iconic “You are now entering Free Derry” on a gable end. On the Waterfront we saw a Tesco supermarket and decided to go in for a coffee. The store itself had the shopping aisles in front as you went in the door and down to the right was the sit down food area. We got our coffees, went to a table and sat down. Moments later a voice behind us said “How are you supposed to open these things?” We turned round and there sitting at a table on his own was John Hume! He was holding the small milk container in his hands. Magdalen, my wife, took it and prised it open. He immediately asked us to sit at his table. He asked us where we were from and why we were in Derry. We told him it was our first time in Derry. He was very curious about Wicklow and I told him of the Parnell Summer School in Avondale that I attend each year in August. It so happened I was going to it the following week. He said he would love to get an opportunity to speak at one and I told him I would mention it when there. Too soon we had finished our coffees and John then said he would like to give us a little memento of our first visit to Derry. He mentioned that his wife Pat was shopping and she had the keys to the car. He asked us to go with him towards the exit and when he saw his wife with a trolley along one of the aisles he went to her and got the keys. We went outside with him and he went across the carpark to his car. When he came back he handed me a “Baby power” and told us it had been made specially for him. We shook hands and said goodbye and thanked him. We had just begun to walk away when he called us and came towards us. “Don’t forget about the Parnell Summer School” he said, “I don’t want any fee, just a place to stay”. I assured him I wouldn’t forget. The following week I did tell about our meeting with John Hume and his request to speak there but sadly, it never happened.