Conwell— On the Cemetery of Taillten. 77 



error in the text in writing Taiten for Taillten ; and, as there is no 

 Mullach, or hill, at Telltown, nor any remains of a cemetery, round 

 which such annual gatherings as we are referring to were customarily 

 held, it is not hy any means probable that " their horses and cavalry 

 were spread out on the space extending from" the Hill of Lloyd to 

 Telltown, a line of country moreover, unsuited and rather impracti- 

 cable for such a purpose. On the contrary, standing on the summit of 

 Mullach Aidi, or Hill of Lloyd, and looking in a direct line to the sum- 

 mit of Sliabh-na-Caillighe, which we think we may fairly take the 

 liberty of calling Mullach Taillten, at a distance of 6 or 7 miles, there 

 is stretched out before the observer one of the most beautiful plains 

 the eye could rest upon, and one exactly suited to the gathering of 

 such a hosting. 



In confirmation of this opinion, it should be observed that we have 

 still existing proof that the cemetery was not exclusively confined to 

 the Loughcrew Hills ; for, as we proceed thence in the direction of 

 Lloyd, on an eminence about two miles distant, called " Xing' s Moun- 

 tain," we find in the middle of a large pasture-field, now set up as a 

 rubbing stone for cattle, a flagstone, with spirals or volutes inscribed 

 upon it, measuring 7^ feet in height, 3 feet wide, and about 6 inches 

 in uniform thickness. On its present site, up to a few years ago, 

 stood a tumulus, which the proprietor of the field caused to be carried 

 away for top-dressing ; and in the centre of the mound this stone was 

 found, covering in a chamber formed of smaller flagstones, and filled 

 with bones, all of which have disappeared, the covering stone alone 

 excepted. 



Approaching still nearer to Lloyd, and about four miles distant 

 from it, we have in the townland of Clonsilla the remains of two earns 

 and some large upright stones, all within a few perches of one another; 

 so that, while the "horses and cavalry," above referred to, ocenpied 

 this valley, they were actually standing around some of the tombs. 



It is a very remarkable coincidence that up to a recent period, and, 

 indeed, not yet quite given up, a large annual gathering of the people, 

 or " Patron," extending westwards from St. Kieran's Church and 

 Well, was held in this plain daring the first week of August (the 

 period of the year for the celebration of the famous Fair of Taillten) : 

 and this is the more remarkable inasmuch as the festival of St. Frieran, 

 which would be the day naturally and usually set apart for the celebra- 

 tion of the " Patron," in honour of the patron Saint of the parish, 

 occurs on the 14th June, the recorded date of Saint Kieran's death. 



On the same plain, still further westward, and in the direction of 

 Sliabh-na-Caillighe, the Pair of Balgree was formerly held. It ex- 

 tended from within half a mile east of the Virginia Eoad Station, on 

 the Oldcastle branch of the Dublin and Drogheda Eailway, to Cloughan- 

 rush — a space of about two statute miles in length. No Pair, however, 

 has been held here within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, although 

 it continues to be published in the advertised lists of Pairs. 



Approaching nearer to Sliabh-na-Caillighe, on the same plain, we 



