186 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



has become the fashion to use iron articles instead of granite for 

 many of these purposes. 



Neither the felstones nor whinstones, seem to have been much 

 utilized in ancient or modern times. There are, however, some 

 green tuffose rocks, very durable, that dress easily and well, and 

 were used in the old structures. The beautiful doorway of the 

 old church at Hogue, near Ferns, Co. Wexford, illustrates the work 

 they are capable of ; as also some carving in the Seven Churches, 

 Glendalough. 



CO. DUBLIN. 



Granites. 



The granite of the Co. Dublin, as a general rule, is not con- 

 sidered to be well adapted for cut-stone purposes, on account of the 

 difficulty of working it into mouldings ; and a freer working stone 

 procured from Golden Grove and Ballyknockan, Co. Wicklow, has 

 been generally preferred and used ; nevertheless, as the sequel 

 shows, there has also been a large consumption of the material 

 obtained near Dublin. 



Dublin is largely flagged with granite slabs : these have been 

 principally wrought from the erratics and loose blocks, or from 

 small quarries on the flanks of the Three Rocks and neighbouring 

 hills. These blocks have been also extensively worked into quoins, 

 and sometimes used for dressed-stone purposes ; but for the latter 

 they were generally unsuitable, as shown by the disintegrated con- 

 dition of much of such work. Within the last two or three decades 

 many of the old dressings have had to be removed and replaced. 



Moreover, the stones quarried for flagging used to be, and are 

 still, badly selected, as will be seen by the uneven weathering of 

 the slabs in the pathways. Of late a most undesirable trade has 

 sprung up in granite for common walling purposes and other 

 cheap work ; the stones being supplied by the farm occupiers, who 

 raise the stones in slack time, and during winter cart them down 

 from the Dublin hill slopes. This practice is very injurious to the 

 repute of the Dublin granite, as the stone thus procured soon be- 

 comes weathered and discoloured. Some of the window-sills, &c, 

 quite disfigure, on account of their dirty colour, many of the newly 

 erected houses in the suburbs of Dublin. These cheap stones have 



