Rathfarnham, Whitechurch, Kelly's Glen and Kilmashogue Mountain.

CHAPTER X

Rathfarnham, Whitechurch, Kelly’s Glen and Kilmashogue Mountain.

To reach Rathfarnham, we either proceed there direct in the tram *via *Harold’s Cross, or take the Rathmines tram as far as the top of the Rathgar road, walking thence along Orwell Road to Orwell Bridge, and then turning to the right along the grassy bank of the Dodder. Orwell Bridge was built about sixty years ago, replacing a wooden footbridge which had done duty for a number of years and had at length become unsafe.

Prior to the erection of Orwell Bridge, vehicles had to cross by a ford, which is still to be seen about half way between the bridge and the Dartry Dye Works, There are some large stones in the river near this point, which appear to be the remains of a line of stepping-stones. Orwell Bridge was formerly called “Waldron’s Bridge,” from the name of a former proprietor of the mills adjoining.

The portion of the river between Orwell and Rathfarnham Bridges is extremely picturesque; a Thigh wooded bank rises above the northern side, crowned by modern residences, while adjoining the road is the densely wooded demesne of Rathfarnham Castle, The entrance gate, in the form of a Roman triumphal arch) was erected in the early part of last century by Charles, Lord Ely) who, for This vote and influence in connection with the Act of Union, received a step in the peerage and £45,000 in cash.

This quiet spot was, in 1841, The scene of a crime which excited an extraordinary degree of interest in Dublin. On the night of the 27th February, an Italian named Domenico Garlibardo, an organ-grinder, was murdered, and his body thrown on the waste ground in front of Lord Ely’s gate, where it was found next morning by a policeman. The inquest was of a protracted character, lasting no less than eight days, and resulted in a verdict of wilful murder, accompanied by a rider attaching strong suspicion to a tinker and his wife from Rathfarnham. These two were in due course placed on trial, but during the proceedings the evidence of the principal witness (Patrick Bryan) broke down on cross-examination and he contradicted himself to such an extent that he was arrested in court for perjury, and the prisoners were consequently acquitted. It was understood, however, that the police had another informant named Delahunt, who, for reasons unexplained, was not produced at either the inquest or trial; but no further developments took place, and the mystery seemed as far from solution as ever, although public opinion strongly inclined to the suspicion that Delahunt was the guilty party.

A few days before Christmas of the same year, the Dublin folk were horrified to hear of another murder, that of a boy named Maguire, whose body, still warm, was found in Pembroke Lane, at rear of Pembroke Road. About an hour after the body was discovered, Delahunt turned up at the police headquarters with the story that he had seen a murder committed at the spot, adding incriminating details as to the conduct of the victim’s mother, but his strange demeanour and shifty answers exerted the suspicions of the police, and he was detained. Inquiries being set on foot, a mass of damning evidence was soon obtained against him, principally from his own immediate relatives, and after a brief trial he was found guilty and executed on the 5th February following.

Before his execution he acknowledged having murdered the boy, Maguire, but denied the murder of Garlibardo. Many of the public, however, continued to believe that be was guilty of both murders, and that the motive was the hope of getting a reward from the authorities for evidence leading to a conviction.

Less than a mile south of Orwell Bridge. and situated on a by-road is a strange looking, conical shaped structure, called “Hall’s Barn” after a local proprietor who erected it during the hard frost”in the winter of 1741-2, to give employment to the poor, then in great distress It was obviously built in imitation of “the Wonderful Barn” near Leixlip, and like it, is ascended by a winding staircase.

Gerard Boate, in This *Natural History of Ireland *(1652), writing of this neighbourhood, says: - “No country in the world is fuller of brooks than Ireland, where the same be numberless and water all the parts of the land on all sides.

The brooks - beside the great good they do the land in watering the same, and beside the commodity they afford of drenching the cattle and other beasts - do also greatly serve the inhabitants for another good use - to wit, the grinding of their corn, whereunto the windmills are very little used in Ireland, because they have the conveniency, through the great number of brooks, to erect watermills in every quarter where it is necessary: which bring a great profit to the owners being kept and maintained with less cost and labour …

“Of these dangerous brooks there are two hard by Dublin, both running into the haven somewhat more than a mile from the city - the one at north side thereof, a little below the village Drumcondra, which is seated upon the highway from Dublin to Drogheda; and the other at the south side, close by the Rings-end. This, called Rathfarnum water [the Dodder]., of the village by which it passeth two miles from the sea and the same distance from Dublin, is far the worst or the two, as taking its beginning out of those great mountains southwards from Dublin, from whence after any great rain, such abundance of water is descending to it that the same, which at other times is of very little depth, groweth thereby so deep, and exceeding violent that many persons have lost their lives therein. Amongst others Mr. John Usher, father to Sir William Usher that now is, who was carried away by the current, nobody being able to succour him, although many persons, and of his nearest friends, both a-foot and horseback, were by on both the sides.

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“To go from Dublin to Rathfarnum, one passeth this river upon a wooden bridge; the which it it be high and strong, nevertheless hath several times been quite broke, and carried away through the violence of sudden floods; although at other times, and when that brook doth only carry its ordinary water, a child of five years may easily and without danger wade through it; arid a tall man on horseback riding underneath it [the bridge] not being able to reach it. In the great floods the water many times riseth so high as that it doth not only touch, but floweth quite over the bridge.” The statement as to the drowning of Sir William Usher’s father is incorrect. Boate probably contused him with the elder son and heir of Sir William Usher - i.e., Arthur Usher of Donnybrook who was drowned in the Dodder on the 2nd March, 1628.

Rathcastle1.jpg (6311 bytes)At a distance of less than half a mile from the Dodder we reach the village of Rathfarnham, a sort of outpost in former times to menace the mountaineers, but now almost a suburban village. At the terminus of the tram line, on the left, will be seen a lofty though ungraceful entrance to the demesne, while the battlements of the castle (pictured, left) itself may be observed towering high above the humbler structures in the village street. This imposing edifice was built towards the close of the 16th century by Archbishop Loftus., who had previously acquired the adjoining lands by grant or purchase.

During the troublous time of 1641, Rathfarnham Castle was first used for the purpose for which it was primarily intended -namely, that of interposing a strong military station between Dublin and the mountains, on the principal road leading southwards. One of the incidents of the military occupation that year was an explosion of gunpowder which nearly killed one John Ogilby, a Scotchman, who was Master of the Revels in Ireland, and had built two theatres in Dublin. Eight years later, during the war between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, and a few days before the Battle of Rathmines, the Castle was stormed by the Royalists, in command of the Marquess of Ormonde, who took all the garrison prisoners, without loss of life on either side, from which it would seem that the defence was not of a very resolute character

At this period the village was the scene of so many skirmishes and encounters between the Dublin settlers and the mountaineers, that it became a very undesirable place of residence and fell into a decayed condition.

Adjoining Rathfarnham was in former times a village named Butterfield, of which no vestige has been left beyond the name, which still attaches to the lane on the right, at the southern end of Rathfarnham. This village probably stood in Butterfield Lane, possibly extending along the bank of the Owen Dugher, which at this point is spanned by a bridge.

In 1692, the Castle of Rathfarnham passed by marriage into the possession of the Marquess of Wharton, and in 1723 it was sold by his son to the Right Hon. Wm. Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons*. *In 1767 it was purchased by the 2nd Earl of Ely, and thus reverted to the possession of the family that built it. In 1852 the Castle was bought by Lord Chancellor Blackburne, in whose family it still remains.

Passing through Rathfarnham village, with Mount Pelier conspicuously in view in front, we pass on the right Butterfield Lane, where Robert Emmet resided for a time in 1803 Presently we reach the new Catholic church, where a turn to the right leads to Willbrook, now in a rather decayed condition, but gradually being replaced by new dwellings built by the rural district council.

At Willbrook we turn to the left along the Whitechurch road, following for some distance the course of a small stream which forms a series of pools where a few wary trout may at times be seen disporting themselves. On the left, at the cross roads, and just inside the grounds of ‘Hermitage’, is a monument, erected by a former owner, Major Doyne, to a horse which carried him through the Battle of Waterloo.

As Whitechurch is approached, the view opens and the road winds considerably, following the course of the pretty stream which here flows between gently sloping banks diversified by tufts of furze and whitethorn. To the left of the road near the Moravian cemetery is a plantation of fine Scotch firs, which, it will be observed, are all inclined towards the east, owing to the force of the prevailing west and south-west winds at this point.

The tall spire of a church presently appears in view, and in a short distance further the structure itself will be seen on a grassy knoll to the left, sheltered by a grove of trees and enclosed in prettily planted grounds.

From very early times a church stood in this locality, and was variously designated as “Alba,” “The Church of Balgeeth,” or “The Church in the Marches” the “Marches” being the name applied to the hinterland or border lands of the Pale. About half a mile nearer Dublin, approached by a narrow laneway, may still be seen he remains of the ancient church, in the graveyard of which certain families still retain the right of burial

Immediately beyond Whitechurch we cross a bridge over the little Dargle river, and turn immediately to the left, passing a group of mill buildings in ruinous condition, beside which is the local national school We now enter a narrow lane rising steeply up the slopes of Kilmashogue Mountain) and towards the upper part, sheltered between high hedge-banks covered with a luxuriant growth of herbage and wild flowers. On the left are the well wooded grounds of Kilmashogue House, planted with firs, larches and yew trees.

As the top of this: lane is approached, an extensive view is obtained westward towards the Bog of Allen, and northward to the low range known as the Naul or Man-of-War hills which form the northern boundary of the county. In the immediate foreground are the church and the scattered hamlet of Whitechurch embosomed in trees, while to the right are the extensive buildings of St. Columba’s College. In the distance will be discerned the Pigeonhouse, with its conspicuous new red brick chimney, Clontarf, Dollymount, Sutton, and Howth Hill, while to the left lies the city under its canopy of smoke, the southern suburbs alone being clearly distinguished.

The lane now bending to the right, ascends more steeply and enters upon a wilder track fringed by growths of bracken and furze, the heights to the left being crowned by the woods of Kilmashogue, while to the right the road is bordered by a plantation of firs and arches, below which in the valley, is the picturesquely situated residence known as Larch Hill, now a sanatorium, surrounded and almost concealed by its pine woods, At this point we may enter the fields to the left of the road and make our way among the rocks and furze bushes until the road is again met higher up the mountain, but in damp weather the mountainside is apt to be swampy and it will be better to keep to the road, even though the distance may be somewhat longer. Here overshadowed by the larches, the road becomes highly picturesque, bordered by a selvage of grass on either side, and with a rocky tract on the left through which a murmuring rivulet threads its course.

After passing the larch plantation, the road ascends very steeply, and in consequence of sweeping to the eastward the view of the Dublin plain is cut off by the upper part of the mountain. Almost directly in front** **is the Two-Rock Mountain, the summit of which is marked by the pointed carn known as “Fairy Castle,” and to the left, but at a lower elevation, the familiar forms of the Three Rocks will be observed. The road here becomes little more than a bridle track along the side of the mountain, and almost at its highest point is closed by a wooden gateway, which, however, presents no obstacle to the pedestrian. A short distance beyond this point is a lane known as “Kelly’s Lane”, leading down to a small slated house almost at the bottom of the valley, and at the opposite bank of the stream beside the bridge, is a chalybeate spa that enjoyed a considerable share of popularity among the Dublin folk about 150 years ago. It will easily be identified by the reddish-yellow deposit with which it is surrounded. All this valley between Kilmashogue and Tibradden is called Kelly’s Glen, and the precipitous little gorge through which the stream runs at the bottom, was supposed by Gabriel Beranger to have been caused by an earthquake, to which agency he also attributed the displacement of the top stone of Mount Venus cromlech. The stream is spanned by two bridges, erected by a proprietor named Caldbeck about the middle of the last century, one bearing the inscription “De la Sophannie, 1850,” and the other “A suore amabile” - said to have been intended as memorials to his deceased sister.

The spa here came into vogue about 1750, immediately after the decline of Templeogue Spa at Spawell house, but its distance from town and the height at which it stood, greatly militated against its popularity Dr. Rutty in his *Natural History of the County *of *Dublin *(1757) has the following interesting notice of it – “This spring was first taken notice of about the year 1748, being in my opinion superior to that of Templeogue, even when this last was in its utmost perfection, though not so easy of access. It is a perennial spring, about nine inches deep, and about twelve inches over, situate in a small glyn on Kilmashoge Hill, a mile south from Kilmashoge, and five miles from Dublin, and consequently, Templeogue spring now failing, is the nearest of any to the city, and not unworthy the notice of our citizens, who though probably by the badness of the road they may be deterred from going to the fountain, may be daily supplied with this water conveyed to them early in the morning in bottles well corked, and so it deserves a cover from the rain.”

Dr Rutty himself took this water for three seasons, and gives a detailed account of the beneficial effects he experienced from it. For some years it was brought to the city daily, and the house adjoining the spa is said to have been originally built to accommodate visitors desirous of staving there to take the water.

Retracing our steps to the head of “Kelly’s lane,” we leave the grass-grown track and ascend* the wild mountainside, making our way as best we can through the furze and heather, perhaps startling an occasional grouse, and possibly equally startled ourselves by the loud whirr with which it rises from its hiding place. After a fairly easy climb of a few hundred feet we reach the summit*, **1,339 feet high - the nearest of the mountain summits to the city, from the centre of which it is in a straight line, just six miles distant.

Kilmashogue Mountain possesses no very striking feature, its outline is rounded, and it has no carn or other mark to indicate the exact summit as in the cases of some of the higher mountains around. Having viewed the extensive prospect from the top, the descent should be made* *down The southeastern side, so as to visit the ruined remains of Caldbeck’s Castle - a most unpicturesque structure, which, although called a castle, was evidently nothing more than an ordinary dwellinghouse. It is said that it, like the house tower down the valley, was built to accommodate visitors to the spa. The rain lies almost exactly in a line from the top of Kilmashogue to the top of the Two Rock Mountain. What remains of the building shows that it had a number of cramped and curiously arranged apartments such as might be expected in a lodginghouse or hotel of limited dimensions. It is now enclosed by a loose stone wall and stands in a slight hollow on the mountain, possibly made for its reception.

Some forty years ago there stood on the northern slope of Kilmashogue, a diminutive church ruin with little of the walls standing, but recent search failed to discover any trace of it, and probably it has long since either fallen down or been dismantled for building purposes. In all likelihood it was the original Kilmashogue (the Church of Saint Moshamhog or Mashoge)

The return journey may be made by going round to the northern side of the mountain, and then following a path leading back to the lane over Whitechurch, by which the ascent was made. A more varied and interesting route, however, for the return journey is to cross Kelly’s Glen and make for a solitary farmhouse which will be seen half-way up the side of Tibradden Mountain on the opposite side of the valley, from which a rough roadway, crossed by a couple of gates, leads into a most picturesque winding lane, affording exquisite views of the Dublin plain and the blue waters of the Bay. This is one of the prettiest lanes in the Dublin mountains, but it is difficult to reach it in damp weather by crossing the valley, as the intervening low ground is sure to be marshy and almost impassable after rain. This lane ultimately leads out on the road known as “Mutton Lane” from Whitehurch to Rockbrook, close to the latter hamlet from which there is a direct road to Rathfarnham, not quite three miles distant.

Distances: - Rathfarnham to Whitechurch cross-roads, 2¼ miles; Whitechurch to Caldbeck’s Castle, 2 miles; Caldbeck’s Castle back to Rathfarnham, 4 miles. Total, 8¼ miles.

If Kelly’s Glen is crossed, and Rathfarnham is reached by Rockbrook, it will add about a mile and a quarter to the journey.

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