334 [Proc B.N.F.C, 



being put upon its meaning. From this point the great valley 

 of Glenshesk opened out in greater beauty and fertility, afford- 

 ing charming views of river, wood, and mountain. The district 

 is full of botanical interest, especially as regards the cryptogamic 

 flora, but the great find of the day was the rare whitlow grass, 

 Draba muralis. This is rare as a British plant, and as regards 

 Ireland still more rare. It is stated that one plant was found 

 long since growing on the walls of Blarney Castle in the South, 

 and Dr. Dickie said it was naturalised on old walls near Belfast, 

 but it does not seem to have been seen by any living botanist in 

 either station. On the walls of an old bridge near Armoy, 

 however, it is plentiful and luxuriant. Draba muralis has also 

 been found on the walls of Glasnevin, where it was supposed to 

 have escaped from the Botanic Garden. The occurrences in 

 Ireland of this plant have all been attributed to accidental 

 escapes from gardens, but, if not indigenous, it is more probable 

 that they are still lingering relics of a more extensive cultivation 

 at a remote period. The ruin of the old church locally known 

 as Goban Saer's was visited, perched on an overhanging ridge, 

 its strong masonry afforded evidence of its early building, and 

 giving grounds for the popular belief that its erection was due 

 to the great mythical builder Goban Saer. The ruined fort of 

 Dun Rainey, about which the Rev. George Hill has written so 

 descriptively, having been passed, and the Margie crossed, a 

 halt was made at the ruins of the old Franciscan Abbey of 

 Bun-na-margie, the sleeping place of the MacDonnell's of 

 Antrim, and many of their followers in the Glens. Whole 

 chapters might be written of the historical events that hap- 

 pened in this district in the past centuries, events of greater 

 historical interest and of more romantic character than those 

 perhaps of any other portion of Ireland. In the old abbey the 

 Rev. A. S. Woodward, a.m., read a short paper descriptive of 

 the ruins and their history. At five o'clock all assembled in 

 the Antrim Arms, Ballycastle, where tea was provided. 



