395 



and about Dungarvan, in the county of "Waterford, and as far as 

 Stradbally, where we again lose them, to re-appear in one solitary 

 monument found at Hook Point, and again in another at Castletimon, 

 not far from Carnsore ; while up the valley of the Suir we find them 

 at Crihinagh, Ballyquin, and Coolnamuck. Now it is also a singular 

 fact, that while we have not hitherto found any of those inscriptions 

 north of " the Sacred Promontory,"* we find them exactly on the op- 

 posite shores of Wales, in the sea-coast counties of Cardigan, Pembroke, 

 and Glamorgan, and one near Brecknock ; in the very districts seized 

 on and held for a considerable period by the Gaedhal, ere they were 

 driven out by the Cymry. It is a remarkable and a suggestive fact, 

 that many of the inscribed stones of Wales present us with names in 

 Romano-British characters identical with names found on our Ogham 

 monuments in this country — a subject which I hope to illustrate on 

 some future occasion. 



XXXIX. — On the Cavern called " Gillie's Hole," at Knockmore, 

 Co. Feemanagh. By. W. F. Wakeman. 



[Read April 12, 1869.] 



Some months ago I had the honor of laying before the Academy an 

 account of a remarkable cavern (usually styled the " Lettered Cave)" of 

 Knockmore, Co. Fermanagh. At that time I was not aware of the 

 existence within the magnificent rock of Knockmore of a second in- 

 scribed cavern, reference to which is now, for the first time, presented 

 to the learned in antiquities. In the southern face of Knockmore, at 

 a considerable distance from the base of the cliff, and in a wild unfre- 

 quented position very difficult of access, may be seen a small opening 

 about four feet in height, and roughly square in form, which, upon 

 examination, proves to be the mouth of a long narrow fissure or gal- 

 lery, known in the immediate neighbourhood as " Gillie's Hole." This 

 name is of no great antiquity, dating only from the latter half of the 

 last century, when the cave was for some time the abode of a hapless 

 pair of lovers named " Gillie," or " Gilleece," who, in consequence of 

 an imprudent or objectionable marriage, had been discarded by their 

 respective families. For a little distance from its opening the cavern 

 increases somewhat in height and width ; it then gradually narrows, 

 and terminates in a mere fissure, through which a small animal could 

 scarcely pass. At the time of my visit, the sides, roof, and floor did 

 not present any appearance of damp or moisture, and indeed upon the 

 whole, in a rude age, the cavern, as a place of abode, might very well 

 have supplied the requirements of a simple family. The walls, though 

 generally in a natural state, present at a few points appearances 

 which indicate that they had been worked by the hands of man ; and 

 upon a tolerably smooth surface, to the right of the entrance, occur 



Carnsore Point. 



