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nded in 1142 by O'Carroll, King of Oriel.--C.P.M. [33] See _Irish Franciscan Monasteries_, by C.P.M., C.C. [34] Again we note that, though late in the day, Davis's appeal has been answered, and most of the important ancient monuments of the country placed under official protection. The real need now is for scientific exploration of the ancient sites.--[Ed.] IRISH ANTIQUITIES. There is on the north (the left) bank of the Boyne, between Drogheda and Slane, a pile compared to which, in age, the Oldbridge obelisk is a thing of yesterday, and compared to which, in lasting interest, the Cathedrals of Dublin would be trivial. It is the Temple of Grange. History is too young to have noted its origin--Archaeology knows not its time. It is a legacy from a forgotten ancestor, to prove that he, too, had art and religion. It may have marked the tomb of a hero who freed, or an invader who subdued--a Brian or a Strongbow. But whether or not a hero's or a saint's bones consecrated it at first, this is plain--it is a temple of nigh two thousand years, perfect as when the last Pagan sacrificed within it.[35] It is a thing to be proud of, as a proof of Ireland's antiquity, to be guarded as an illustration of her early creed and arts. It is one of a thousand muniments of our old nationality which a national government would keep safe. What, then, will be the reader's surprise and anger to hear that some people having legal power or corrupt influence in Meath are getting, or have got, _a presentment for a road to run right through the Temple of Grange_! We do not know their names, nor, if the design be at once given up, as in deference to public opinion it must finally be, shall we take the trouble to find them out. But if they persist in this brutal outrage against so precious a landmark of Irish history and civilisation, then we frankly say if the law will not reach them public opinion shall, and they shall bitterly repent the desecration. These men who design, and those who consent to the act, may be Liberals or Tories, Protestants or Catholics, but beyond a doubt they are tasteless blockheads--poor devils without reverence or education--men, who, as Wordsworth says-- "Would peep and botanise Upon their mothers' graves." All over Europe the governments, the aristocracies, and the people have been combining to discover, gain, and guard every monument of what their dead countryme
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