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Two monuments of the primeval age are to be found on the lands of Killiney.
One of these is a Cromlech, which stands near the road leading front
Ballybrack to Shanganagh (pictured on left and right). It is, as compared
with others in the County Dublin, a small specimen, and, owing to some of
the supporting stones being broken, the roof rock, which weighs about
twelve tons, has fallen somewhat from its original position. The other
monument of the rock age is near the Martello Tower, at Killiney, and is
known as "the Druids' judgment seat." In its present form it is a
modern antique, but the stones of which it is composed formed part of a
sepulchral memorial, dating from very early times. The latter consisted of
three small Cromlechs, surrounded by a circle of upright stones, about 135
feet in circumference, and, at the time of its first attracting attention,
in the 18th century, when everything pre-historic was attributed either to
the Druids or the Danes, it was assumed to be a Pagan temple - a
designation under which it is marked on the Ordnance Survey Map. Near the
circle was discovered at the same time an ancient burying-place, and some
stones with curious markings, which are still to be seen. The burying-place
was of considerable extent, the bodies, which were enclosed in coffins made
of flags, having been laid in a number of rows of ten each.
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Before
the English invasion the lands of Killiney had been given to the Priory of
the Holy Trinity, and subsequently they were confirmed to it with those of
Kill-of-the-Grange, by the ecclesiastical and lay authorities. They were
included in the Manor of Kill-of-the-Grange, and, in spite of their rocky
and sterile character, they were inhabited, in the 14th century, by John
Milis, and many cottagers, who were bound to do "divers works" on
the home farm of the Priory, and who contributed fifteen reapers at harvest
time.
After
the dissolution of the Priory the lands were held successively, under the
Cathedral, by William Walsh, alias McHowell; James Garvey, doubtless a relative
of the Primate of that name, who had been Dean of Christ Church; and the
owners of Loughlinstown, the Goodman family. After the Rebellion of 1641,
the property of the Goodmans was confiscated and seized by the Parliament.
On
the Restoration the lands of Killiney were recovered for the Cathedral by
Dr. Lightburne, and were afterwards held by Gilbert Wye, of Belfast, an
officer in the Earl of Donegal's regiment the Mossoms, already mentioned as
owners of Tipperstown, the Fawcetts, who were owners of Brenanstown, and
the Pocklingtons and Domviles, of whom we shall see under Loughlinstown.
Towards
the close of the 18th century, "a neat lodge" was built near the
ruined church by Mr. Peter Wilson, who removed there from Dalkey, on
retiring from business, and it was in his grounds, in 1785, that the stone
remains and burying-place, which, on his invitation, were inspected by
General Vallancey, were discovered.
Later
on a Mr. Fetherston was residing at Killiney, and, in 1800, the Rev. James
Dunn, then curate, and afterwards vicar, of Monkstown, was lodging in
"a small cottage, delightfully situated over the seashore." In
the year 1788-a remarkable one in the annals of Killiney - a coal brig,
which had gone ashore on the strand, and whose recovery had been given up
as hopeless by English engineers, was floated by a Dublin firm; and a
prodigious boy, who at seven years of age was 5 feet 2 inches high and 4
feet 5 inches round his waist, was to be seen at Ballybrack.
During
the first part of the 19th century Killiney was still open country, as the
fatal accident in 1815, to the Duke of Dorset - the stepson of Lord
Whitworth, the Viceroy of the time - while hunting on its lands, indicates,
but its beauty later on became more appreciated, and a great speculative
building scheme, with "views perspective as well as prospective,"
of which Victoria Castle was the outcome, was laid before the public. (A
monument on the hill bears the following inscription, "This pile was
raised to mark the fatal spot where, at the age of 21, George John
Frederick, the fourth Duke of Dorset, accidentally lost his life 14th
February, 1815.")
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