264 



[Proc. B.N.F.C., 



Perhaps the most interesting sight on the way was the great 

 Dun of Celthair, which, says Harris, " comprehends at least three- 

 quarters of an English mile within the circuit of all the works. 

 The circumference of it is 2,100 feet, the conical height 60 feet; 

 three great artificial ramparts surround it, the most considerable 

 of which is thirty feet broad." This great Rath, which seems to 

 have been the royal residence and fortress of the native princes, 

 takes its name from Celthair of the Battles, one of the Red Branch 

 Knights who fought under Conor Mac Nessa, King of Ulster, 

 about the beginning of the Christian era. 



Inch Abbey was reached about 3-30, and the party proceeded 

 to explore the ruins which stand on what was anciently Inis 

 Cumscraidh, or the Island of Cumhscraidh, who was one of the 

 sons of Conor Mac Nessa. Mr. Maxwell kindly had the rank 

 undergrowth cleared away, so that no difficulty was found in 

 examining the beautiful Cistercian Abbey, of which little now 

 remains save traces of its" former broad foundations, some 

 mouldering, ivy-clad walls, and one gable pierced by three slender 

 lancet windows, early English in design, and of exquisite pro- 

 portions. Mr. Parkinson now gave the members an interesting 

 resume of the history of the Abbey. Its foundation about 1 1 77, 

 which is variously attributed to Sir John de Courcy and to his 

 wife, Affrica, daughter of the King of Man, was an act of repara- 

 tion as amends for the destruction by Sir John of the Benedictine 

 Abbey of Erenagh, said to have been strongly fortified by the 

 native princes against the Norman knight's predatory invasion. 

 After listening appreciatively to Mr. Parkinson's instructive 

 remarks, the party scattered, each pursuing his or her particular 

 hobby, studying the plant and animal life of the river and its 

 banks. The Rev. Charles K. Pooler, B.D., D.Litt., had very 

 considerately placed two boats, with boatmen, at the disposal of 

 the party, and many spent the afternoon on the beautiful waters 

 of the Quoile. 



