School: Clondalkin (Pres. Convent) (roll number 7883)

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1. Tallaght Cemetery (continued)

   

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   Dominican College in Tallaght but a large part of it has fallen in and it has not been used for a long time.

   Standing near the centre of the graveyard there is a monument in the shape of a church spire standing about eight feet high. There is an ancient Baptismal Font standing near the gates of the graveyard which is believed to be that used by St. Melruaen when Baptising. But during the Reformation when the English seized the church the Baptismal Font was removed from the church to its present position.

   There is a story connected with the font which goes back to the time of the Cromwellians. When Cromwell was marching from Drogheda to Wexford he passed through Tallaght and having to stop the night and seeing the church he and his soldiers decided to stable their horses in it. He also used the Holy Water Font as a [?] trough for his horses to drink from but they could not take all the water out of it no matter how hard they tried, so they bored a hole in the bottom to drain it off. But a drain of water still remained which after all their efforts they did not succeed in moving it. Thousands of men and horses tried to pull it away but many were killed and a few were badly injured.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
         1. penal times (~4,335)
   2. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. historical and commemorative structures (~6,794)
            1. graveyards (~2,501)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Breeda Doyle

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Main Street, Co. Dublin