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Apparently around 19 examples of rock art have been recorded in this townsland alone, with two more in the adjacent townsland of Letter West and the large group at Coomasaharn near the lake.
Because many were almost entirely covered in peat they have been amazingly well preserved, to compare the weathered carvings with the protected ones is like night and day. This area also has some unique cross or cruciform carvings with cups and pennanular rings at the end of each arm and sometimes inside the remaining 'slices' of the axis.
The numbers assigned to the panels here are the entry numbers for the Archaeological Survey of the Iveragh Peninsula.
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A very, very sad place. Ballykissane burial ground is a disused Cillín or burial ground for infants that died before baptism. Under the shroud of the maniacal catholic church, the un-baptised were buried away from the consecrated graveyard alongside murderers, lunatics and others deemed beyond salvation. A very nice woman who lives nearby nearly had tears falling when she was describing how grief stricken parents of infants were forced to bury their child after midnight in this graveyard away from the community and could not wake them or find comfort in the normal burial rituals. Those sick bastards. Ballykissane was in use up until the mid 20th century.
Only tiny bits of boulders mark the graves and the graveyard is so overgrown that it's impossible to see many of them now.
Recently, perhaps in a moment of repentance, a standing stone with a plaque of remembrance for the children buried here was erected where the old track to the burial ground met the road to the east.
The rock art is now sitting under a tree along the borders of the raised burial area but has moved at least once. Along both sides of a fissure are five cup and rings and around 12 deep and rounded cup marks. Other rings may have weathered away.
Access is through a farmyard along the road south. Please ask.
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Having failed to get the key once more (so close, so far!) I was going to visit Sess Kilgreen again when I passed the sign for Knockmany and decided to check it out anyway.
The forestry service guy told me to drive up until I reach the service car park nearer the top, so up I drove. And up. And then nearly drove into the side of the tomb! I didn't realise it was possible to drive all the way up but the track is steep and not very solid so I would recommend the forest walk instead.
It was a clear, sunny day and the views were amazing, recent rain seemed to have cleared the haze. The enclosing bunker is hideous as lamented elsewhere, but the tomb inside is great, lots of bizarre and surprising carvings visible through the door and from the skylight.
By employing a few tricks (sticking camera on tripod through the bars and perching flash units up on the skylight) I was able to get some decent pics all the same.
Something should really be done about the interior of this monument, it makes the Fourknocks roof look like a work of artistic genius. Whats with the air vent to nowhere behind the backstone? At least painting the walls black would be a vast improvement.
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Autumn Lecture Series at Brú na Boinne Visitor Centre
Wednesdays in
Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre
September 3rd 7.30pm
A Room with a View:
The Earlier Prehistoric Landscape of Brú na Bóinne
by Dr Conor Brady
Dundalk Institute of Technology
September 17th 7.30pm
Meath's Landscape: what the Builders
of Loughcrew and Newgrange found.
By Dr Robert Meehan
Consultant Geologist
October 8th 8.00pm
Of Meat and Men:
Animals and Humans in Ancient Co Meath
By Dr Finbar McCormick
Queens University, Belfast
October 22nd 8.00pm
Newgrange Passage tomb and the Cursus:
There's more to see than meets the eye
By Kevin Barton
Earthsound Associates
Free of Charge- All welcome!
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