Howth - the old Mail Road, the Castle, a ramble around the Hill

CHAPTER XXXI

Howth - the old Mail Road, the Castle, a ramble around the Hill

The road distinctively known as “The Howth Road” starts from the shore at the eastern side of Clontarf Crescent, and after passing inland for a distance of about four miles, again meets the shore at a place marked ‘in old maps and still locally known as “The Whip of the Water,” whence it skins the coast for a mile and a half, then crosses the isthmus of Sutton in an oblique and ultimately reaches Howth Town at a distance of nine miles from Dublin.

It has been the subject of remark that this road, which in width and mode of construction, presents the appearance of a great highway, is strangely out of proportion to its actual importance as a thoroughfare, and that the existence of a mere fishing village at its extremity could not have been sufficient reason for constructing it in so costly and elaborate a fashion. It should, however, be remembered that Howth, when it was constituted the mail packet station in 1809, thereby became entitled to rank as a port of the first* *importance, and the construction of a high road to Dublin was at once rendered necessary to enable the mails and Government despatches to be forwarded to the city with as little delay as possible. This work, which consisted mainly of improving and altering the old road, was entrusted to Telford, the eminent engineer who constructed the great Holyhead and London Road, of which the Howth Road was, for postal purposes, regarded as a continuation. The two roads were, indeed, made under the same contract, and were sometimes spoken of as “The Dublin and London Road.”

There is little of interest to be seen until the village of Raheny is passed, owing to the high walls by which the road is to a great extent enclosed. At a distance of 2½ miles from the Crescent, the road dips sharply, where it crosses the valley of the Santry River, and at the head of the rising ground on the opposite side, enters the village of Raheny (pronounced *Rahenny), *anciently Rath Enna or Enna’s Fort. The circumvallations of this rath are still distinguishable in places near the old Protestant church, which is built on the site of a more ancient edifice that stood within the circuit of the rath. St. Ossan’s holy well was formerly in the field between the church and the railway station, but it is now covered up, and its waters drain into the Santry River close by. A depression in the ground and a bush still marks its site.

A mile beyond Raheny, the road by a long decline reaches the shore, at “The Whip of the Water,” where it meets the electric tramway, and presently passes the storm-beaten ruins of the ancient church of Kilbarrack, the most conspicuous object along the flat unbroken sweep of shore. In its lonely churchyard sleep many who, in times more perilous for seafarers, were cast up by the waves - some, unknown and unidentified, passengers of stout ships wrecked upon the treacherous shallows off the shore - others, fisher folk caught by the tide or overwhelmed by sudden storm in their frail skiffs.

Beneath an illegible headstone in this churchyard is buried the notorious Higgins, better known as “The Sham Squire.”

In a little over half a mile beyond Kilbarrack we reach the isthmus of Sutton, on which the Howth and Hill tram lines intersect. On the right, as we proceed towards Howth, will be seen the square tower known as Corr Castle, and sometimes called “The Dane’s Castle,” standing in the old racecourse. This building has been supposed to be the remnant of a more extensive structure, but was probably only an outpost of Howth Castle, built in this position so as to command a view of the sea on each side of the isthmus, which would have been a great advantage in the troublous times when it was erected. It was formerly used as a standhouse when the races were held here.

A mile beyond this point the road enters Howth town, within the memory of many, a village of miserable hovels, but greatly improved and extended in recent years.

About the beginning of the last century, when it had been decided to supersede the Pigeonhouse as a Packet Station, and to construct a large harbour at either Howth or Dunleary, the relative merits of both these sites were fully discussed and fiercely contested by the champions of the two localities. A pamphlet on the subject was published, the following extracts from which afford interesting glimpses of the conditions of travelling in those days:- “Let us ask the coachman driving the coach from the Post Office to Howth, would not more danger attend the passengers, coach, and horses going from the Post Office to Howth than to Dunleary? What would become of the passengers if a coach wheel broke on such a road as that leading from Rathany to ‘The Whiskey Forge’ at the foot of the hill?”

What, indeed! It is too dreadful to contemplate! They might have had to wait for another coach, or even to walk to Howth, a mile distant!

This worthy pamphleteer further depicts in lurid colours the perils of this terrible road:- “Let any man of common sense travel the road from Dublin to Howth. Let him there see what security he can find for his person or property in a dark night. He should have a troop of horse to guard him against land robbers; and at high water, which at times must be when the mail coach goes that way, he ought to have a gunboat sailing along the strand inside of the North Bull to prevent sea pirates from attacking him and plundering him on the coast! And having got his property they need only row across the bay and share the booty in safety.”

As the average depth of the water between the North Bull and Sutton Strand is insufficient to enable one even to bathe comfortably, it is doubtful if the gunboat would have been much assistance against the “sea pirates” alluded to.

The advantages of the Dunleary road are, on the other hand, set forth as follows:- “You can throw a stone from house to house the whole way; there is no need to be under apprehension of land or sea robbers attacking the mail coach, and, at their leisure, making off with impunity. There, at least, the expense of a troop of horse or a gunboat would be saved.”

Despite the arguments in favour of Dunleary, for which place the pamphleteer evidently held a brief, Howth triumphed, though its triumph was indeed of short duration, and the first stone of the new pier there was laid in 1807. The work was no sooner finished, however, than its worthlessness became evident, and notwithstanding the fact that over £300,000 had been spent on it, an agitation was set on foot for the construction of another harbour at Dunleary, as that at Howth was filling up so rapidly with sand and mud that it was only with considerable difficulty that sufficient depth could be maintained for the Holyhead packets.

It has been generally stated that if the harbour had been constructed a little more to the east, at Balscadden Bay, it would have fulfilled all the purposes for which it was intended.

When the steam packets commenced plying about 1818, the duration of the voyage to Holyhead was reduced to about seven hours, which was a great improvement on the speed of the sailing packets.

The earliest record we have of Howth is a reference to it on a map compiled by the Alexandrian geographer, Ptolemy, early in the second century. In this map Howth is represented as a small island called Edri Deserta, and in the Greek text Edrou Heremos, both names meaning the desert of Edar, the ancient name of Howth. Ptolemy, who never visited Ireland, and prepared his map from the accounts given to him by others, may well be excused for supposing Howth to be an island, when we consider the flat, narrow isthmus which connects it with the mainland, and, besides, we know that almost the entire shores of Dublin Bay have been rising within historic times, so that it is possible that the isthmus may have been covered, or nearly covered, at high water at least, when the Alexandrian prepared his chart 1,800 years ago.

Gerard Boate, in his *Natural History of Ireland (1652), *also notices the resemblance of Howth to an island:- “Hoath a great high mountain, three or four miles compass in the botom, having the sea on all sides except the west side, where with a long narrow neck it is joined to the land, which neck, being low ground, one may from either side see the sea over it; so that afar it seemeth as if it were an island. This head may be seen a great way off at sea, for even upon the land one may very perfectly see it, not only upon the key of Dublin, which is six miles from thence, but nine or ten miles further westward.”

It was, indeed at one time proposed to cut a wide ship channel across the isthmus at its narrowest part, to be called “The Sound of Howth,” and it was claimed by the projectors tat the navigability of the Port of Dublin would be improved thereby.

Twiss, in his *Tour Through Ireland *(1775), states that the appearance of Howth from Stillorgan obelisk is exactly like that of the Rock of Gibraltar.

The ancient name of Howth, Ben Edar, meaning the Hill of Edar, is said to commemorate a Dedannan chieftain of that name who was buried on the hill. The modern name of Howth is a modification of the Scandinavian word Hoved, a head, which name was given to it by the Norse freebooters who settled along these coasts in early times.

Prior to 1844, when the railway was completed, Howth was a very primitive place indeed, the village consisting of wretched thatched cabins inhabited by poor fishermen. Nevertheless, a Sunday drive there on a “jingle” was one of the most popular diversions of the Dublin folk 100 years ago, while some were even hardy enough to essay a climb over the rocks and wild heather-clad hills.

A poet of the day thus describes these excursions and the primitive conveyances in which they were made: -

“Well might an artist travel from afar

To view the structure of a low-backed car;

A downy mattress on a car is laid,

The father sits beside his tender maid.

Some back to back, some side to side are placed;

The children in the centre interlaced.

By dozens thus, full many a Sunday mom,

With dangling legs the jovial crowd is borne;

Clontarf they seek, or Howth’s aspiring brow

Or Leixlip smiling on the stream below.”

One of the principal objects of interest at Howth is the Castle, to the grounds of which visitors are generally admitted on Saturdays in summer, and on certain other days advertised by the Railway Company.

Of the original stronghold of the Howth family little information is forthcoming, either in history or tradition, The present structure seems to consist of several portions erected at different periods, but is known to have been, to a great extent, rebuilt in the middle of the 16th century by Christopher, twentieth Lord of Howth. It is an embattled building flanked by two square towers, and approached by a terrace and flight of steps leading into a spacious hall, which extends the whole length of the Castle. Among the pictures is a valuable portrait of Dean Swift painted by Bindon in 1735, representing Wood, the notorious patentee of the base half-pennies, writhing in agonies at Swift’s feet. The Dean was a frequent visitor at the Castle, to which he usually rode on horseback, and allusions to these visits are to be found in his writings. A number of antique weapons and articles of armour are also preserved in the Castle, and among them is an immense two-handed sword, said to have belonged to Sir Armoricus Tristram, the founder of the Howth family.

This Tristram was one of the Norman adventurers who came over to Ireland at the time of the Invasion, and had achieved a distinguished record for his prowess on many a hard-fought field. He and Sir John De Courcy sailed to Howth in 1177, accompanied by a chosen band of fighting men, and on landing were opposed by the inhabitants, mostly Danish pirates who had settled in this neighbourhood. A desperate battle was fought at “The Bridge of Evora,” which crossed the small river, called “The Bloody Stream,” flowing into the sea near the railway station, and, after heavy losses on both sides, the natives were completely defeated. This battle having been fought on 10th August (Feast of St. Laurence, the Spaniard), the Tristram family, in commemoration of the event, thereafter assumed the name of St. Lawrence. The following extract on the subject is taken from Hanmer’s *Chronicles of Ireland, *but it may be observed that his account rests on no very certain authority, and that the entire circumstances connected with the landing and battle at Evora are involved in considerable obscurity: - “They landed at Howth and there fought a cruell fight by the side of a bridge, where Sir John De Courcy, being sickly, tarried about the shippe. Sir Armoricus, being chieftaine and generall of the field by land, behaved himselfe most worthily. Many were slaine on both sides, but Sir Armoricus got the victory, with the losse of seven of his owne blood, sonnes, uncles and newphewes; whereupon, for his singular valour, and good service, there performed, that lordship was allotted unto him for his part of the conquest.”

A vague tradition of this battle seems to have lingered in the neighbourhood, and is to some extent corroborated by the discoveries of human bones, antique weapons and armour, which from time to time have been made during excavations for building purposes in the vicinity of the railway station.

The most interesting object in the town, from an antiquarian point of view, is the Abbey, situated on the heights overhanging the harbour, with its burial ground, surrounded by an embattled wall. In the south aisle is the tomb of Christopher, twentieth lord of Howth, who died in 1589, and of his wife Elizabeth, both of whom are represented by figures in high relief on the slab of the monument. Adjoining the burial ground is an ancient monastic establishment, now called “The College of Howth,” which, from the character of its architecture, appears to date from the same period as the Abbey.

We now leave the town to make our way to the Old Bailey Lighthouse, but if the journey be considered too fatiguing, or the time be limited, better take the Hill tram from the Railway Station. If it be decided to walk, a choice of three routes is available - namely, the old Lighthouse road up Balglass hill, to the right of the new Catholic Church, the road to the left of the church, and the cliff path. The latter is much the most picturesque route, but it entails an addition of about a mile to the journey, and is somewhat rougher walking than the roads. To reach the path, we proceed by the road skirting Balscadden Bay, overshadowed by Tower Hill, from the Martello tower on which the submarine cable to England is carried into the sea at Balscadden Bay under the two notice boards marked “Telegraph.” The cable formerly started from a station on the shore, but the entire structure was demolished one night in a storm, and the cable was thereupon removed to the Martello tower.

We next pass under the precipitous heights of Kilrock, to the summit of which there is a footpath diverging on the right from the road.

Along the road from Balscadden Bay to Kilrock quarries may be seen the stones, now utilised as kerbstones, which were used over a hundred years ago to form the roadway by which rocks were conveyed from the quarries to the shore for the construction of the harbour. Many of these stones are curiously grooved in parallel lines, probably caused by either chains or projections from the lorries carrying the rocks.

The Cliff path commences at Kilrock by a steep ascent, and then passes between wooden posts on the left, beside a small wayside hostelry. From this part of the hill there is an extensive view of the coast of Fingal as far north as Rush, whose long rows of white cottages are plainly visible to the naked eye. Malahide and Swords are concealed from view by Malahide or Carrick Hill rising above the flat, sandy shores of Portmarnock and the glistening expanse of the Velvet Strand, while to the right, forming prominent objects in the view, will be seen Lambay Island and Ireland’s Eye.

Immediately on the left, as we proceed towards the old Bailey, is the precipitous headland known as the Nose of Howth, which forms the north-eastern point of the promontory, and from this the path turns nearly at right angles to the southward. A track diverging to the left leads to the Nose, but it runs perilously close to the edge of the cliffs, and is not to be recommended. Our track now skirts the edges of tremendous cliffs

• jagged and bare - with the dark surging waters breaking in huge waves far below, while on the inner side is a wild tract of moorland, interspersed with heather, bracken and furze - gay in its colouring of purple and gold.

We next reach the bold headland known as the Casana Rock, a great resort of sea birds, which at times nearly cover it, their plaintive cries echoing among the cliffs and mingling with the roar of the surf. Near this point the first glimpse is obtained of the Wicklow coast, Wicklow Head being readily identified by its two old lighthouses, and to the right may be seen the long flat sweep of shore extending to Greystones, the houses of which show conspicuously in the sunshine.

This precipitous portion of the coast was the scene of a lamentable shipping disaster in 1853. The steamship *Queen Victoria, *on a voyage from Liverpool to Dublin, with about 100 passengers and cargo, struck on the southern side of the Casana rock during a dense snowstorm, between 2 and 3 o’clock on the morning of the 15th February. Eight of the passengers managed to scramble overboard on to the rocks, from which they made their way up the cliffs to the Bailey Lighthouse. The captain, without further delay, ordered the vessel to be backed, so as to float her clear of the rocks, but she proved to be more seriously injured than was imagined, and began to fill rapidly when she got into deep water. Drifting helplessly towards the Bailey, she struck the rocky base of the Lighthouse promontory, and sank in fifteen minutes afterwards, with her bowsprit touching the shore. The *Roscommon *steamer fortunately happened to pass while the ill-fated vessel was sinking, and, attracted by the signals of distress, Promptly put out all her boats and rescued between 40 and 50 of the passengers. About 60, however, were drowned, including the captain.

After a protracted inquest extending over several days, the jury found that the disaster was due to the culpable negligence of the captain and the first mate, in failing to slacken speed during a snowstorm which obscured all lights, they well knowing at the time that they were approaching land. The mate was subsequently put on trial for manslaughter.

It was believed by many that if the captain had not, in the first instance, backed off the rocks into deep water, all on board could have been saved.

From the Nose to the Bailey Lighthouse the water is sufficiently deep to enable coasting steamers to keep close to the shore, and from this part of the hill may frequently be observed the operation of taking a pilot by incoming vessels. Indeed, no better point of vantage than the heights over the Bailey can be found for watching the various craft passing to and fro on this maritime highway.

Immediately beyond the Casana Rock some stupendous cliff scenery is passed, after which the path, rising higher, comes into view of Bray Head, the Sugar Loaves, Dalkey Island and the Muglins. Then the Bailey promontory, properly known as Duncriffan, green and smooth as a carpet, with the lighthouse, is seen in front, and on the opposite coast, Dalkey, Killiney, and Ballybrack hills, their green slopes dotted all over with villa residences, Kingstown obscured by its smoke, and beyond it the familiar form of Carrickgollogan surmounted by its chimney. Towering above Carrickgollogan may be seen the dark form of Douce, one of the highest mountains in the view southward.

Across the sea, eastward, will often be seen, in clear weather, Holyhead mountain, Snowdon and the Llanberis Pass, while to the southward of these will sometimes be seen the outlines of Cader Idris.

On approaching the old Bailey, which stands in a commanding position, 475 feet above the sea, it will be well to diverge from the path and ascend the heights to the right so as to reach the old lighthouse. The cottage known as the old Bailey is, owing to its white colour and conspicuous position, visible a great distance off, and consists of two portions, one of much more recent date than the other. The small massively built structure was portion of the old lighthouse, and the remainder is an addition to the older portion, to increase the accommodation after it had come to be utilised as a dwellinghouse. The circular base of the old lighthouse tower, with portion of the walls, adjoins the cottage, and the masonry is still in excellent preservation. The condition of the base, and the absence of any ruins or debris, would point to the probability that when this lighthouse fell into disuse, after the erection of the modern one in 1814, the tower was taken down to supply building material for some of the adjoining cottages.

The old Bailey lighthouse is believed to have been erected by Robert Readinge in the reign of Charles II, and, like most of its contemporaries, was placed so high that it was often hidden by fogs hanging around the heights when it was clear at sea level.

The mound under the base of the tower will, if examined, be found to consist of cinders and debris thrown down from an old beacon tower which stood there prior to the erection of the lighthouse in Charles the Second’s time.

Early in the last century the Port authorities decided to supersede the old lighthouse, and, accordingly, in 1814, the existing structure was erected on Duncriffan promontory, which up to that time bore, in excellent preservation, the lines of circumvallation of King Criffan’s fortress of 1,900 years ago, and in consequence got the name of the Bailey, or Bally, from the Irish *bade *(Low Latin, *ballium, *a fortress). Some portions of the fosses are yet discernible across the neck of the promontory.

In the *Annals of the Four Masters *there is a record of King Criffan’s return, with numerous spoils of war, from an expedition abroad, and of his death, in his fort at Duncriffan, Ben Edar, in the year 9 A.D.

In making some excavations at the new lighthouse about twenty-five years ago, large quantities of human remains were found - probably relics of the battle fought here in 646 A.D., between Kings Conall and Kellagh, joint kings of Ireland, and Aengus, who, as son of the previous king, disputed the sovereignty with them.

Leaving the old Bailey, we take the road down towards the tram station, turning to the left along the main road, which now descends considerably, and bends towards the westward. The Bailey lighthouse and promontory now come again into view on the left, and as we turn the corner of the road, we may dimly distinguish, through the overhanging smoke, the more conspicuous buildings of the city, the tall twin chimneys at Ringsend, and to the right, the flat, sandy reaches of Dollymount and the North Bull. We now pass a station on the tram line appropriately called “Bay View,” and from this point the line runs along the road, on which there is little of interest to notice until the station called “Barren Hill” is passed, so called from the heather-clad height with that name adjoining. Immediately beyond this station will be seen a whitewashed cottage on the right

• open the iron gate beside the cottage, and pass along by the wall to the top of the field, where turn to the right till a path is reached. Follow this path round the side of the hill known as Shelmartin, which lies immediately to the right, and can be ascended from any point along the pathway if desired.

From this part of the hill there is a fine view of the isthmus and houses of Sutton, the peninsula and sands of Portmarnock, and the splendid plain of Moy Bra. We now cross a stile adjoining a cottage with pointed windows, beyond which the pathway crosses a tract of grass and rushes, often swampy rainy weather. Another stile is presently reached beside a wooden gate, from which the pathway passes through a jungle of bracken often as high as one’s head.

Immediately in front now appears the rocky height known as Dunhill, on the summit of which there stood in former times, before the introduction of the electric telegraph, a post office semaphore station. It may be here remarked that the semaphore system was very much more efficient than is generally supposed, and messages were often sent by it with a rapidity which would astonish modern telegraph operators. Of course its great fault was that even a partial fog paralysed the whole system.

In the summer this hill is generally one mass of purple heather - mostly the brilliant bell variety, not that known as ling.

A few hundred yards from the last-mentioned stile the pathway branches; keep to the left and cross the stile beside an iron gate, pass along by the hedge on the right at the top of the field until a turnstile is reached, from which take the path across the field to the road and then turn to the left down Balglass hill into the town.

At the foot of Carrickmore, the precipice overhanging Howth demesne, is a cromlech of considerable size, the top of which has slipped from its supports and fallen to the ground. It is traditionally reputed to mark the burial place of a daughter of Aengus of Ben Edar, named Aideen, who died of grief at the loss of her husband, Oscar, at a battle at Gavra, near Tara, in the year 284 A.D.

This incident has been made the subject of a beautiful poem, entitled “Aideen’s Grave,” by the late Sir Samuel Ferguson:-

They heaved the stone, they heap’d the cairn;

Said Ossian, ‘In a queenly grave

We leave her ‘mong her fields of fern,

Between the cliff and wave.

‘The cliff behind stands clear and bare,

And bare, above, the heathery steep

Scales the clear heaven’s expanse,

to where The Danaan Druids sleep.

‘And all the sands that, left and right,

The grassy isthmus-ridge confine,

In yellow bars lie bare and bright

Among the sparkling brine.

‘A clear pure air pervades the scene,

In loneliness and awe secure;

Meet spot to sepulchre a queen

Who in her life was pure.

‘When, mingling with the wreckful wail,

From low Clontarf’s wave-trampled floor

Comes booming up the burthened gale,

The angry Sand-Bull’s roar.

‘And here, hard by her natal bower

On lone Ben Edar’s side, we strive

With lifted rock and sign of power

To keep her name alive.”’

The circuit of the hill, as herein described, entails a walk of six miles; but this can be reduced to four and a quarter miles by taking the tram from the Summit Station to Barren Hill.

The wilder portions of the hill and Ireland’s Eye are dealt with in the next chapter.

The following authorities were consulted in preparing this chapter:- *The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries *for 1895, containing articles on Howth by Mr. Robert Cochrane and the Rev. C. T. M’Cready; *A Day *at *Howth, *by the late Mr. Huband Smith; Dalton’s *History of the County Dubhn; *Wakeman’s *Old Dublin; *and some articles in *The Dublin Penny Journal *and The Irish Penny Magazine.

To Chapter 32 To Neighbourhood Index. Home.