It has commonly known that Loughcrew graveyard and Clonabraney had great connections with the Plunkett family. Blessed Oliver is supposed to be a native of Loughcrew. I often heard the story of an old prodestant Game Keeper of Captain Napper who met an old lady who was on her way to Loughcrew graveyard seeking some information about the Plunkett Family. He attacked her for entering the land and when he heard her err and he ran her like a dog. To quench his thirst after his anger he had a bottle

that Blessed Oliver Plunkett's family were a branch of the Loughcrew family, but were not so wealthy and that his mother who attended Mass in Loughcrew, was frowned upon the Mrs Plunkett of Loughcrew and that her husband, Blessed Oliver's father hearing of it, built a private Chapel at Drumsoura for the family, to save his wife from insult.The remains of the chapel and the small castle he built are to be seen on the bye-road that leads from Summerbank crossroads to Loughcrew. The is a very imposing fort nearer the

Loughcrew Loughcrew is a very beautiful place, it is also a very historical place. It is situated in County Meath about three and a half miles from Oldcastle. There is one mountain in Meath and it is in Loughcrew "Sliab na Cuilleach" is the highest peak. It was in Loughcrew that

Father Hand of Dublin, who founded All Hallow's College, was born in Loughcrew. There are ruins of an old church in Loughcrew, it is called "Plunkett church". It is believed that Blessed Oliver Plunkett served mass there.
Ollamh Fodhla, who was a pagan king of ancient Éire, has his resting place in Loughcrew.

The name of my district is Loughcrew.
My home district is in two townlands, Knockbrack and Rahaghy. It is in the parish of Loughcrew, and in the barony of Fore.
Most of the houses are slated. The most common name is Mahon.
There are no woods but the Inny, a tributary of the Shannon, flows as a boundary to our land.
The Loughcrew lakes which are on Captain Naper's estate and which belong to him, are quite near my home district. The water is going through our land from the Loughcrew lakes to the town of Oldcastle.
Loughcrew school is about a quarter of a mile down the road from our house.

yard.
Very few people went to America from here in former times as the Loughcrew estate provided work for them. But latterly the number of employees has been reduced and some of the yonger people have gone to get work mostly in England, in Birmingham and other large cities.
There are a lot of songs and poems about Loughcrew, In one songs it is called
'Sweet Loughcrew'.
The land is good and rich and the district is hilly.
There are a lot of nice woods growing in Loughcrew, there is a wood growing just opposite our school, a lot of ferns, bluebells, primroses and violets growing in the moss make the wood look lovely in Summer.
Latterly a great many trees have been cut down and sold, more's the pity!
There was a great auction in one of the woods last Thursday a lot of tree-tops were sold after the timber - men had removed the parts they required. There are several woods in Loughcrew district.
'The old wood', a small wood near Dromone

wood one night after 12 o'clock, it was a pitch dark night. And he was found dead in a sand hole the next day."Sliabh Caillighe" one of the three Loughcrew Hills, it is so named because on it was the resting place of "Cailleach Beártha". There she used to sit on her hag's chair, smoke her pipe when she wanted rest and peace.The Old Wood' about 200 yards south of this school is so named because in it are the oldest trees to be found in all the woods of Loughcrew.The Sycamore Hollow is a part of the huge deer park near here on the Loughcrew estate. The hollow is surrounded by sycamore trees, it is situated near to Loughcrew House.Eileen Jenkins,
Loughcrew,
Oldcastle,
Co Meath

The lady of the house, Miss Naper got her jewellery all safe. At first it was thought that half of it would not be saved, but helpers went in by the window and brought the remainder safe.
The building was replaced on the same site by the lovely residence which may be seen nestling amongst the woods at the base of the Loughcrew Hills. Eileen Jenkins, Loughcrew, Oldcastle.
Subject matter supplied by Mrs Dixon, Loughcrew Farm, Stewardess to Captain W.L. Naper

The Loughcrew hills are situated two miles from the town of Oldcastle in the County of Meath. They are very ancient-looking and historical. There are three hills namely Cairin Bawn, Loughcrew and Patrickstown. These hills are often called Slieve na Cailligh or the Caileach Beara hills and are a quarater of a mile apart.Long ago a hag lived there and the Tailtean games were played there and she was the Queen of the Tailteans. Several people of noble birth went there every year to join in these games. It is recorded that Ollamh Follamh was a constant visitor at the Loughcrew hills and when he died his body was cremated and the remains were buried there. King Laoghaire also lived there and a neighbouring townland was called Drumlaoghaire in his

On the second hill from Oldcastle lies a large Cairn surrounded by an ancient burial ground. There is also a very big cave which is one of the finest in Ireland
The hags chair is still to be seen on the hill. The legend concerning the hag is that Fionn Mc Cool was out hunting one day when he saw this hag sitting on the hill. She provoked him by telling him that she would not let him hunt any further over her land. It is related that he seized a huge armful of stones and threw them at her. There they remain to this day forming the Cairn of Loughcrew.
Loughcrew was also famous in the penals days, there is a Mass rock still to be seen, and many is the Priest sought shelter there when hunted by England's bloodhounds.
Blessed Oliver Plunkett primate of all Ireland and Martyred on Tyburn Hill was born at the foot of Loughcrew hills.
There is a cave near our house in Balnagon and it was opened a few years ago. They had a ladder and it went down about thirty feet in the cave. It was people of Dublin that open it first. It is locally supposed to have been built by the Danes and used as a hiding place by them. There is a long passage leading out of it which is supposed to be connected with other caves. When they were letting down the ladder it broke and they could hear it going

of an old Church which stands in the field. This Church is supposed to have been built by "Blessed Oliver Plunkett". A friend of "Blessed Oliver's" used to go to mass to "Loughcrew" Church and she used to kneel beside a sister of hers. Her sister used to say to her I can't kneel beside you because I smell turf of you (the one used to burn turf in her home)Blessed Oliver is supposed to have built the Church for the one who used to burn the turf so as that she might not have to go to "Loughcrew" anymore. Anyway the ruins of the Church is there to see whether it was built for that reason or not.

A Story.
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About a hundred years ago there lived a woman named Mrs Jones who lived in Loughcrew. She was a very rich woman and had a great lot of jewellery. She died and was buried in Loughcrew. The butler that was working on the house knew that she had all this jewellery. So he went to her coffin to take of the rings off her fingers. He could not get off the (ra) rings until he drew blood. As soon as he drew her blood she rose up. As soon as he saw this he left the countary She left her grave and went back to her house and knocked at the door. Her husband came to the door and said olaly my wife is dead. I would say that is her knock. When he went to open it and

The Old GraveyardsWritten by: Julia Gilligan, Dromorne, 29-12-'38There are four old graveyards in this locality. One is around the Catholic Church of Moylough, another is situated beside the old Castle of Moylough, and the other two are in the townland of Loughcrew. The Milltown cemetery, i.e. the one at Moylough Castle is on very high ground and seems to have been in use for a great many years. The graves are covered with weeds, and are very neglected. It is seldom that people are buried in it now. I have never been in Loughcrew, Protestant graveyard, but I have heard it is kept lovely and

The Old GraveyardsWritten by Kathleen Hill, Milltonw, 30th November, 1938There are four churchyards in this parish. There is one at the Catholic church in Moylough, another old graveyard around the old castle which is situated in the town's land of Milltown, although it is known as the castle of Moylough. Few people are buried there now, so the graves are becoming very neglected. I have never been in the Loughcrew Protestant graveyard, but I have heard it is kept lovely and there are some beautiful tombstones in it. Then there is the old church yard of Loughcrew with its famous old church where Blessed Oliver Plunkett served Mass.

Summer-bank. Mrs Carroll married again and is now the widow of Charles Coyle who was killed in an accident at Browneys cross-roads. R.I.P. My mother was sent on a message from Carrolls to Loughcrew on a Sunday evening and when returning home this side of Loughcrew church she met a little black man and a big long tube out of his mouth. he stood in front of her for a good while and then moved to the other side of the road and stood there for about five or ten minutes and at last he walked on and my mother ran home. IIOnce upon a time there were two who were very great friends one of the men died and the other man was very sorry for him. About three months after he died the other man was coming home from his Ceilidhe and he met the Ghost of the man that was dead and the living man said "Good night my friend how ae you?". The ghost opened his coat and inside was all in flames of fire and he said "If I liked I could have done something to you, do not ever speak to the likes of me again.

3
The following story happened about seventy years ago in Loughcrew Co Meath to a lady who was living in a big house in Loughcrew and she had a lot of rings on her fingers and the yard man wanted to get them, so when she died she was put into a vault and that night he went to the vault and went in. He tried to take the rings off but he could not, so he cut off her fingers and while he was still cutting them off she wakened up for she was only in a trance she got up and walked to her own home and knocked at the door and her husband opened it, and when he saw her he fainted for he thought it was her ghost.
Written by Eithne Kearney Baltrasna Oldcastle Co Meath

The Loughcrew Hills Oldcastle, Co Meath
This school of Ballydurrow is stuated on the mearing of Oldcastle Parish, Co Meath and about four miles away are the famous hills of Loughcrew. The are visible over the surrounding countryside being the loftiest hills in the district standing 900 feet above the sea-level. Here are many open tombs and subterranean passages which lead underground, beneath the town of Oldcastle and have many openings on the South side of Oldcastle about the townland of Crossdrum. There are many cairns or great heaps of stones in many places on the hills. At least three big cairns are very remarkable.The old people of the district say that great chiefs were buried there; others maintain that great battles took place there long, long ago and that these cairns were much bigger, before they were demolished and perhaps thousands are buried there. Other old people of the district maintain that the mythical powerful heroine called the

honour. The Loughcrew hills are about seventy five high and from them on a clear day can be seen sixteen counties with the aid of a field-glass. The tops of the hills are not grassy as one might imagine but are covered with massive piles of stones. We are told that the "hag" collected these stones in her apron and dropped them on the hills already named. Every step she took was a quarter of a mile long and if she had taken the fourth step she would have burned the village of Oldcastle. There are caves in each hill and an underground channel leading from one to the other and thence to Loughcrew house the property of Captain Napper. It is not possible to go further than ten feet inside as the walls have been built up leading to the inner chambers to keep sheep from going inside. During recent years the Antiquarian Society put fences around the hills

Cual na Cusla Newcastle Co. Meath
Lios Newcastle Co. Meath
Béal na Móna Galeastown Co. Meath
Loch Seise Kilskyre Co. Meath
Sgeich a Mhuille Baltrasna Co. Meath
Tathair Dubh Moylough Co. Meath
Crucafada Loughcrew Co. Meath
Clonderbhis Loughcrew Co. Meath
Croise Dubh Knocklough Co. Meath
Gleann thaca Crossdrum Co. Meath
Cnoc Duill Baltrasna Co. Meath
Freethan, Loughcrew Co. Meath
Párc na Reithín, Baltrasna Co. Meath
Párc Achaidh Summerbank Co. Meath
Cúl an Uachtair Drumlerry Co. Meath
An Ráithin Drumlerry Co. Meath
Poll an Cill Ballinvalley Co. Meath
Sleag Mhuileann Loughcrew Co. Meath
Léine Greasaí Virginnia Co. Cavan
Lios Árd Ballymacad Co. Meath
Párc an Bachaigh Summerbank Co. Meath
Cnocmacóní Summerbank Co. Meath
Poll a Thín Boolies Co. Meath
Cnoch na gcloich Crossdrum Co. Meath
Cnoch na Gor Baltrasna Co. Meath
Currach Newcastle Co. Meath

twelve counties. Mr. John Donegan tells me he saw men reaping on the north east side of this hill and knew the men. He saw this, through glasses, from Newcastle Co Down.On Mt. Oriel is the Gallow's Hill on which the Croppies were hanged. Mt. Oriel is at present in the hands of the Irish Land Commission for division. Mt. Oriel was formerly a quarry but the then Lord Mazareene took the stones to drain his land and planted the hill with trees.
BelpatrickFrom the School-house you get a magnificent view of Down, Armagh, Monaghan with the Steeple of Carrick showing quite clearly and long below it. Also of Cavan and Meath and Loughcrew near Oldcastle, where Blessed Oliver Plunket was born.Mr. John Donegan tells me that when he was at Capt. Napper's place at Loughcrew he could see people walking up Mollyash Road. He also says there is a field for which Capt. Napper would