The A-Maze-ing Hollywood Stone

© JRSAI

Full title: The Holywood Stone and the Labyrinth of Knossos

Creator / Author: Goddard H. Orpen (1852-1932)

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 13pp

Journal Information: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Sixth Series, Volume 13, Number 2, pp. 177-189

When Published: December 1923

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: The Hollywood Stone is a large decorated stone which was found in 1908 face downwards close to the Pilgrim’s Road which leads to Glendalough. The author, having originally assumed that the decoration represented a cross, now proposes that the design really is of a type of maze or labyrinth that is associated with that of the Minotaur at Knossos in Crete. This article looks at the history of this pattern, also known as the ‘Game of Troy’, and compares the Hollyood example with others from abroad.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes several photographs and illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

History Under Water

© JRSAI

Full title: Two Ringforts Submerged by the Poulaphuca Reservoir

Creator / Author: R. A. S. Macalister

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 5pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 13 Number 4 pp. 145-149

When Published: December 1943

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: This is a short report on two ringforts before they were due to be submerged by the creation of the Poulaphouca Reservoir. One was in Balyknockan and the other in the townland of Burgage More. The author, a professor of Archaeology in UCD, concluded that no serious loss would be incurred by them being underwater.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes plans of both ringforts

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Brief Account of Two Bullaun Stones

© JRSAI

Full title: Two Bullaun Stones in Kilbeg Townland, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: David McGuinness and Markus Redmond

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 3pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 125 pp. 129-131

When Published: December 1995

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: This is a short article from the Miscellanea section of the journal. Bullaun Stones are blocks of uncut natural stones into which oval or circular basin shapes have been carved out. This pair of stones came to the attention of the authors by their appearance on a then recently-issued ordnance survey map and they do not seem to have been recorded in detail before. They, and 2-3 others in the neighbourhood are thought to have been associated with Templeboden and St. Boden’s Well.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes illustration of the stones.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Kippure Mountain – geology, resources and social history [Reblog]

About: This is an entry from the blog of South Dublin Libraries Local Studies which was posted on May 20th, 2020. It relates to a thesis, authored by Geraldine Worth, with the title ‘Kippure Mountain – geology, resources and social history. Kippure straddles the border between Dublin and Wicklow, but its highest point is firmly within Wicklow. The blog helpfully provides links to the full text of the thesis.

South Dublin Libraries Local Studies

To read this thesis please follow the links below.

Part 1 – Kippure Mountain all chapters-p1-p19

Part 2 – Kippure Mountain all chapters-p20-p34

Part 3 – Kippure Mountain all chapters-p35-p63

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CKAS – Promoting Local History Since 1891

© CKAS

Full title: The Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society: 1891-2007, Vol.I – Vol. XIX

Creator / Author: The County Kildare Archaeological Society

Item Type: DVD (data disc)

When Published: ca.2008

Publisher / Place of Publication: The County Kildare Archaeological Society / County Kildare, Ireland.

About: The County Kildare Archaeological Society was founded in 1891 and has, since then, actively promoted the archaeological and historical heritage of County Kildare and adjacent areas. This fully searchable DVD contains the entire contents of all nineteen volumes of the journal of the Society which were published from its foundation until 2007. The content of this DVD, together with archive issues of the Kildare Observer newspaper, has recently been made available online.

ID number(s): 0332-0782

WW Connection #1: The Journal contains much material specifically related to West Wicklow.

Extra #1: Check Libraries Ireland for this DVD.

Extra #2: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this DVD in libraries worldwide

Extra #3: Search and access the content of this DVD free of charge, courtesy of the Co. Kildare Archaeological Society and Kildare Library Services.

Extra #4: Visit the County Kildare Archaeology Society website.

Early Grave Slabs from Counties Dublin, Kildare & Wicklow

© The Publisher

Full title: Pre-Norman grave-slabs and cross-inscribed stones in the Dublin region

Creator / Author: Patrick Healy, edited by Kieran Swords.

Item Type / Page count: Book / 124pp

When Published: 2009

Publisher / Place of Publication: South Dublin Libraries, Local Studies Section / County Library, County Hall, Town Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

About: The author was an archaeologist and local historian who according to Professor Etienne Rynne “knew the early graveslabs of County Dublin and North County Wicklow better than anyone else ever did” (Introduction). This book is based on a thesis submitted by the author for an M.A. degree at NUI Galway and has been expanded to include updated material. It is a comprehensive work that also covers locations in West Wicklow and East Kildare. Altogether, some 85 slabs are catalogued and described.

ID number(s): 9780955379819

Contents: Paddy Healy: an appreciation / Rob Goodbody – Editor’s Acknowledgements – Foreword / Mayor Billy Gogarty – Introduction / Professor Etienne Rynne – Illustrated Glossary – Author’s Acknowledgements – Author’s Introduction — Historical background – Pre-Norman church-sites in the Dublin region: Co. Dublin, Co. Wicklow, Co. Kildare — Upright and recumbent slabs: a discussion — Pre-Norman grave-slabs and cross-inscribed stones in the Dublin region: a summary of the eight group-types – Numbered catalogue of slabs and cross-inscribed stones of the greater Dublin area – Bibliography —Appendix I: Decorated stones at Kilgobbin, Co. Dublin / P. Ó hÉailidhe – Placename index to locations with pre-Norman grave-slabs and cross-inscribed stones, Counties Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare.

Extra #1: Profusely illustrated with drawings, photographs and maps.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Buried in the Rath Field

© JRSAI

Full title: Cist Burial at Ballyknockan, Parish of Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: P.T. Walshe

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 2pp + photos

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 4 Number 2 pp. 259-260

When Published: December 1934

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: In 1934 the author of this article was made aware of a large stone on a lane on the lands of Charles Reilly of Ballyknockan in the parish of Kiltegan. The lane had been constructed some 50 years earlier by Mr. Reilly’s uncle and some bones had been uncovered. The author visited the site of the stone and carried out an investigation. This short report summarises the results of that investigation which concluded that the site located in a place known as the “rath field” contained a cremation burial.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes two black & white photographs.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Writing About Wicklow

© The Publisher

Full title: Ordnance survey letters Wicklow and Carlow: letters relating to the antiquities of the counties of Wicklow and Carlow containing information collected during the progress of the ordnance survey 1838-1840.

Creator / Author: Michael Herity (editor)

Item Type / Page count: Book / 294pp

When Published: 2013

Publisher / Place of Publication: Fourmasters Press / Dublin 4

About: The Ordnance Survey for Ireland was established in 1824. One of the projects involved a team, headed by the Irish scholar John O’Donovan, visiting the counties of Ireland and submitting by letter various information relating to their history, placenames, antiquities, architecture etc. This volume reprints the letters sent back to Dublin from Wicklow and Carlow. It should be noted that the places listed in the contents are the places from which the letters were sent, but the topics covered in the letters themselves range much more widely and together cover all locations in the county.

ID number(s): 9781903538197

Contents: (Wicklow only) Acknowledgements – Editor’s Note — The Curry Brothers, O’Donovan and O’Conor in Wicklow / Michael Herity — Bullaun Stones and Early Medieval Pilgrimage at Glendalough / David McGuinness — Enniskerry December 13th 1838, December 15th 1838, December 17th 1838 — Carlow December 18th 1838 — Bray December 22nd 1838 — Carlow December 26th 1838 — Bray December 27th 1838, December 29th 1838 — Baltinglass December 30th 1838, December 31st 1838 /Jan. 1st 1839, January 1st 1839, January 3rd 1839 — Newtown Mount Kennedy January 3rd 1839, January 5th 1839 — Rathdrum January 7th 1839 — Newtown Mount Kennedy January 8th 1839 — Blessington January 9th 1839, January 10th 1839 — Newtown Mount Kennedy January 11th 1839 — Blessington January 13th 1839, January 15th 1839 — Wicklow January 16th 1839 — Blessington January 16th 1839, January 18th 1839 — Wicklow January 19th 1839 — Blessington January 21st 1839, January 22nd 1839 — Wicklow January 22nd 1839 — Blessington January 23rd 1839, January 24th 1839 — Rathdrum January 24th 1839, January 24th 1839, January 26th 1839 — Arklow January 28th 1839, January 29th 1839, January 31st 1839, February 4th 1839 – [Letters from] J. O’Donovan March 30th 1840 — J. O’Donovan Account of Glendalough, April 7th/14th 1840 — H. Tucker September 14th 1839 — G. Petrie September 16th 1839 — H. Tucker March 23rd 1840 — H. Tucker March 24th 1840 — E James March 26th 1840 – Index.

Extra #1: Includes several illustrations and maps.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Link to ‘Ordnance Survey of Ireland Letters’ page at AskAboutIreland.ie

Grave Slabs From Hollywood and Further Afield

© JRSAI

Full title: The Hollywood Slabs: Some Late Medieval Grave Slabs from West Wicklow and Neighbouring Counties

Creator / Author: Christiaan Corlett

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 25p

Journal Information: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 133, pp. 86-110

When Published: 2003

Publisher / Place of Publication: The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland / 63 Merrion Square South, Dublin 2

About: The author first discovered this type of grave slab in Hollywood in West Wicklow. He coined the term ‘Hollywood Slabs’ to describe them, although there are now many more such slabs to be found outside of the Hollywood area. The slabs date from the medieval period and have distinctive characteristics. This article lists and describes all such slabs known to the author at the time of writing.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: includes five pages of black/white photographs and numerous illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Extra #5: Visit the author’s website & blog

Extra #6: Link to the author’s page on Academia.edu

Laid to Rest in the White Field

© JRSAI

Full title: Excavation of Urn Burials at Clonshannon, Imaal, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: A. Mahr and L. Price

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 16pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 2 Number 1 pp. 75-90

When Published: June 1932

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: Around 1930, local farmer James Kavanagh uncovered an ancient grave while ploughing in a field known as the White Field. He replaced the cover stone and remembered that his father had uncovered other similar remains in the same field some forty years earlier. In 1931 word of these finds was passed on to the authors by Edward O’Toole. Excavations of the two sites were carried out in 1931 and on a third grave in 1932. Much of this article is taken up with a scholarly discussion on the pottery urns and vessels found during the excavations. The authors estimate the date of the burials to be around 700BC and they may very well have belonged to the same family group.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes several illustrations, black & white photographs and a map.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.