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Knocklayd

Cairn(s)

<b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by crumbImage © crumb
Also known as:
  • Knocklead
  • Cnoc Leithid
  • Carn an Truagh

OS Ref (GB):   NW2907593864
Latitude:55° 9' 52.39" N
Longitude:   6° 15' 16.14" W

Added by Rhiannon


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<b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by crumb <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by crumb <b>Knocklayd</b>Posted by crumb

Folklore

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A walk to the summit of Knocklead, one of the Aura mountains, close to Ballycastle, was not fatiguing in the true sense of the word.
...Seventeen hundred feet higher in the air than when I set out, I felt as if the elastic and buoyant spirit within had risen in the same proportion.
... My seat at this moment was the Cairn of the Three, a tumulus where, according to old tradition, three Danish princesses, after many wanderings and sorrows, found a final resting place.

This mountain is believed by the peasantry to contain in its bosom a reservoir of water, destined one day to rush forth, and inundate the country to the extent of seven miles around.
Such was the prophecy of Sheelah Dubhni Malone, the Black Nun of Bona Margy, who formerly resided in the Franciscan abbey of that name, and enjoyed a high reputation for her knowledge of futurity.
From 'Ireland Picturesque and Romantic' by L Ritchie (1838).

The NI Sites and Monuments record mentions that the cairn, 'Carn An Truagh', is at the junction of 10 townlands, that it is a whopping 7m high, and that it uses lots of white quartz. The enclosing kerb is visible on the south west side. They suggest it could actually be a passage tomb.
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
7th July 2009ce
Edited 7th July 2009ce