L 107 I 



VIII. 



THE CISTS, DOLMENS, AND PILLAES IN THE EASTERN 

 HALF OF THE COUNTY OF CLAEE. Bt THOMAS 

 JOHNSON WESTROPP, M.A. 



[Plates VII. a^d VIII.] 



[Read June 23rd, 1902.] 



Seciioxs 3 A^[D 4 — The Baronies of Tulla. 



The baronies of Dpper aud Lover Tulla form, with those of Buni'atty, 

 the well-marked eastern half of Clare. It seems desirable to take them 

 next iu order to the district of which I gave a survey of the early 

 monuments of rough stone in a paper read before this Academy in last 

 April. The barony of Upper Tulla corresponds to part of the ancient 

 Hy Caisin and Hy Ronghaile, with Tuath Echtghe (or Feakle parish) 

 and Cinel Donghaile (the O'Grady's country). Lower Tulla covers 

 Hymbloid, Hy Turlough, and some obscure little states along the edge 

 of the hills. As in the Bunratty districts, it is probable that none of 

 these arrangements extend far enough into the past to affect the 

 dolmens or cists. Topographically the divisions are equally defective ; 

 eastern Clare falls naturally into the plain land and the hills of Slieve 

 Echtghe and Slieve Bernagh. In this paper we are obliged to refer 

 strictly to the conventional divisions and the maj)s of the Ordnance 

 Sui'vey, which show the sites, but do not always mark the dolmens. 



The earlier wi'iters have, as usual, passed by the prehistoric monu- 

 ments without any detailed description — indeed, rarely with even casual 

 mention. In 1839 O'Donovanand 0' Curry described, not very clearly, 

 two monuments at Miltown and two at Ballycroum. Beyond this they 

 barely allude to the " Broken Giants' Graves" of Drummin andBally- 

 kelly. The maps of 1840 omit four at Miltown, two each at Fomcrla, 

 Xiltanon, aud Dromandoora, and one each at Tyredagh, Ballycroum, 

 Maryfort, Derrj-more, Elmhill, and Cloonyconry. Mr. M. Brogan de- 

 scribed the upper dolmen of Dromandoora to this Academy in 1865, 

 Miss Stokes, in both her lists of dolmens, omits all the monuments 

 (even those marked on the maps) to the cast of the Fergus. Canon 



