School: Matehy, Inniscarra
- Location:
- Coill na Muice, Co. Chorcaí
- Teacher: Conchobhar Ó Liatháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0347, Page 406
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- XML School: Matehy, Inniscarra
- XML Page 406
- XML “Local Monuments”
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- There are numerous monuments or standing stones in the parish. In the churchyard there are crosses and headstones, but in the fields are found standing stones which are locally called gallawns.
About twenty of these gallawns can be seen in the parish, most of which are from four to five feet in height, and an ordinary man could get his hands around one of them. Hardly any of these stones have carvings or letters on them now, but it is supposed that the writing was on them long ago, but that it is now blotted out. This writing is called Ogham, and was said to be carved witha hammer and chisel.
Tradition tells us that the Danes built these gallawns as headstones to some leaders who died belonging to them. Then where there are two stones to be found not far from each other a story is told that how two giants were having a contest, to see which of them would throw the stones the farther. When the stones were thrown they stuck in the ground and the giants were afterwards buried near them. A pair of gallawns of this kind can be found in Loughane in(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Nancy O' Sullivan
- Gender
- Female
