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
|