53 



a pointed oval form, and measures two inches and seven- 

 eighths in length, and one inch and three-quarters in its 

 greatest breadth. 



It has been surmised, with considerable appearance of 

 probability, that this seal (which, if an inference were drawn 

 solely from the style of the characters, might be pretty con- 

 fidently referred to the close of the fourteenth, or the 

 beginning of the fifteenth century) belonged to a monastic 

 establishment dedicated to the Virgin, as Archdall states, 

 [Monast. Hibern. &'ZQ,'\ at Ballindown, on Lough Garagh, in 

 the county of Sligo, of which but inconsiderable remains 

 now exist. It is said to have been founded by M'Donogh, 

 lord of Corran and Tirreril, A.D. 1427, for nuns of the order 

 of Saint Dominick, about the very period to which the cha- 

 racters of the legend may be attributed. 



Like other names of places in Ireland, that of Ballindown 

 is variously written. In a tract entitled, "Valor beneficiorum 

 ecclesiasticorum in Hibernia," we find "V.de Ballendowne 



