Ballaghaderreen to Kilfree Branch Line – A Brief History

 

Ballaghaderreen Railway Station

            Many excellent photographs of the now closed Ballaghaderreen to Kilfree Junction branch line have appeared on Facebook recently. I grew up close to Edmondstown Station and have happy memories of travelling on the line.

On Saturday, 6^th December 1862 the prospectus of the Sligo and Ballaghaderreen Junction Railway (S&BJR) was published. The following year plans for the proposed branch line were presented to the Parliament at Westminster. The bill became law when Queen Victoria affixed her signature to the relevant documents on the 13^th July 1863.

The Sligo & Ballaghaderreen Junction Railway was authorised to build a branch line connecting Ballaghaderreen to the newly opened extension of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) from Longford to Sligo. On 31^st October 1874, an advertisement was issued by the MGWR announcing the opening of the branch line on 2nd November.

Opened in 1974

The new railway line opened as planned in 1874, just five years before the apparition at Knock, Co Mayo, in 1879 and was operated by the Midland and Great Western Railway. It cost £80,000 to build. The first train from Kilfree to Ballaghaderreen was driven by Ben Partridge, an English man from Kent, who married and settled down in the town.

However, after trading at a loss for two years, the S&BJR sold its interest in the line to the Midland Great Western Railway for £24,000 in 1877. The Sligo and Ballaghaderreen Junction Railway lost its identity and was absorbed into the Midland system.

Route

The distance from Ballaghaderreen to Kilfree Junction was nine miles. The speed restriction was 25mph and half an hour was the time allowed. There were two intermediate halts on the branch line - Edmondstown and Island Road. Excellent views of Lough Gara were visible between Island Road and Kilfree Junction.

Service

Dublin - Ballaghaderreen Railway Timetable

            The basic passenger service was three or four round trips per day apart from the “Emergency” when the service was reduced to one round trip. Between 1947 and the line’s closure in 1963, the service decreased to two round trips in the morning and early afternoon. Most services were mixed passenger and freight.

Ballaghaderreen Station

The stone-built station building at Ballaghaderreen still exists but is in a very derelict state. Part of the platform also survives. The goods shed, used by the GAA, remains complete with its typical long cattle bank platform.

Edmondstown Station

Edmondstown Station c1960

Opening in November 1874, Edmondstown Station had a single storey station building, complete with an attached waiting room. The station only had one platform and an adjacent level crossing.

 Island Road Station

Island Road Station

            Island Road railway station opened on 1 July 1909 and consisted of a station masters' house and small waiting room. The station was situated next to the gated level crossing on Island Road in the townland of Tawnymucklagh, and about 1/2 mile from the village of Monasteraden. The station is now in use as a private residence, with the waiting room, station house and platform largely intact.

Kilfree Junction

Kilfree Junction

            Kilfree Junction was located on the Sligo line in the townland of Cloontycarn between Boyle and Ballymote. The station was not located near any significant settlement, the nearest, Gorteen in County Sligo, being over 6km away. The station had three platforms: two served a passing loop on the main line and the third was used by the branch line. The station had sidings and turntable for turning round engines coming from the branch line. There was a signal box and a house for the station master.

Incidents

            During the Irish War of Independence (1919 – 1921) trains were regularly stopped on the branch line by the IRA, British soldiers, and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). In May 1921, a train was hi-jacked and used to shoot at the RIC Barracks in Ballaghaderreen

Blizzard

The blizzard of 1947 was one of the most memorable episodes of the history of the Branch Line. The Railway system north and west of the Longford was snowbound. Ballaghaderreen town and district was isolated, with snow piled up to ten feet high on the roads. After several days and the threat of a food shortage, a snow clearance committee was organised. A group of 150 men boarded the train at Ballaghaderreen and working in relays proceeded to clear the snow from the line.

Post War

After the Second World War, better main roads, and an increase in road transport for transporting goods led to financial problems for the Railway system. Eventually, the Railway Company was obliged to reduce spending and resorted to a reduction of its service on uneconomic routes. The tragic news of the looming closure of the Ballaghaderreen to Kilfree line was delivered to the people of Ballaghaderreen. Organised protest against the closure was unsuccessful and the line finally closed on 2^nd February 1963.

Closed in 1963

Train about to depart Ballaghaderreen Station for Kilfree Junction

            The last return passenger trip departed Ballaghaderreen at 11:50 on 2^nd February and was hauled by 0-6-0 steam locomotive 574. I joined the 160 children and 30 adults who made the journey marking the sad end of an era. The train was seen off by as many spectators. The return journey from Kilfree Junction started with the bang of detonators and a local band played a farewell tribute. The last train was a special cattle train hauled by Locomotive B133 leaving Ballaghaderreen at 15:22.

Gold Rings from Lough Gara, Co. Sligo

Lough Gara, Co. Sligo

In prehistoric Ireland highly skilled craftsmen used large quantities of gold to make single objects such as torcs, bracelets and dress-fasteners or very small amounts beaten into sheet for lunulae or foil to cover base metal rings. Many years of training, practice and experience would have been required to produce work of such quality.

Lough Gara-type Rings

Gold Ring ornaments (c) National Museum of Ireland

Mary Cahill, in her paper Prehistoric Gold from Co. Sligo (2013), describes a number of gold rings from Lough Gara, known as penannular rings. All but one of the rings are made of base metal covered with gold foil and are referred to as ’Lough Gara-type’ rings. Seventeen such rings are recorded from Ireland of which five are from Co. Sligo. These rings included three from the hoard found at Rathtinaun, Lough Gara, in 1954 and two from the townland of Annaghbeg or Monasteraden on the opposite side of the lake found in the 1960s.

The Annaghbeg Hoard

In 1988 the National Museum of Ireland was contacted by the Curator of the County Museum and Art Gallery, Truro, Cornwall. He had recently seen a small hoard consisting of a pottery vessel and two decorated gold foil-covered rings said to have been found either on the shore or close to the shore of Lough Gara.

After negotiations the hoard was acquired by the National Museum of Ireland and returned to Ireland. This hoard is a rare example of the discovery of prehistoric gold objects in a container and the only surviving example of the use of a ceramic vessel to contain gold or metal objects. It is also recorded that the Rathtinaun hoard was found in a wooden box with two upright wooden pegs beside it which may have been markers.

Mary Cahill describes the Annaghbeg ceramic vessel as:

 … a small coarse-ware pot with thick walls narrowing towards the rim, rounded in form and roughly U-shaped in profile but slightly waisted at the centre of the vessel. The vessel is undecorated. The outer fabric surface is buff coloured, smooth and slightly burnished but quite pitted, perhaps as a result of soil conditions since deposition. Internally the fabric varies from black to buff from base to rim. The base is slightly rounded.

Both foil-covered composite rings were made from a solid led core which is crescent shaped. Each ring is broadly U-shaped in cross-section. The rectangular strip of gold foil used to cover the ring had to be carefully fitted and stretched over the outer surface of the ring.

The rings are decorated with a simple pattern of lines and dots which have been lightly incised on the surface of the led core before wrapping the ring in the gold foil. Each face of the rings has been scored with a series of radial lines drawn across the surface. 

Very little gold was required to wrap the rings but considerable goldsmithing skills were essential to beat an ingot into an extremely thin foil and to complete the application of the foil cover. Both rings are the same size, weight and similarly decorated and were clearly intended to be a pair.

The Rathtinaun Hoard

Amber Necklace from Rathtinaun Hoard, Lough Gara, Co. Sligo
(c) National Museum of Ireland

Another gold ring was found during the excavation of Crannog 61, Rathtinaun, Lough Gara, by Joseph Raftery in 1954. It is a very small sold gold ring which narrows towards the terminals and is slightly thickened at the ends (Fig. 5). The ring is 1.3cm in maximum diameter and weighs just 5g.

A further three penannular rings in the Rathtinaun hoard are of the same type as those from Annaghbeg but with some important differences in terms of size, weight and the quality of craftsmanship. The Rathtinaun specimens show a much higher degree of workmanship. For example, the decoration on these rings is more complex and more skilfully executed. Two of the three rings from Rathtinaun form a pair and resemble the Annaghbeg rings closely in form.

The Rathtinaun hoard is rare because of the mixture of metals and organic material, the type of objects in the hoard and the exotic nature of some artefacts. It also includes objects made of tin which is very rarely used on its own as a metal, boars’ tusks, amber beads and an unusual bronze pin.

Bronze Age and Iron Age Gold

Gold Lunula from Coggalbeg Hoard - Early Bronze Age
(c) National Museum of Ireland

It remains unclear why lead was used in the making of these rings. Lead has been in use since the Middle Bronze Age as an additive to the usual copper/tin alloy, bronze, because it improves the ductility of the metal. Like tin, lead was rarely used on its own.

Although these objects are small, they are very heavy because their cores are made from lead. From the seventeen examples known to date, eight form matching pair being of similar size, weight and decorative style. It is possible that these rings are ear ornaments or ear weights. These items might also have been used as hair rings but when used as a pendant form of ear ornament the rings would be seen to their best advantage. The single rings may not have been used in pairs raising the possibility of their use as nose ornaments.

 Scholars have noted the difference between gold used in the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Consequently, at least sixty items of goldwork from Late Bronze Age have been reassigned to the Iron Age period. Mary Cahill states:

During the Bronze Age the amount of silver present varies but is never greater than 15% whereas during the Iron Age the silver content is much higher and can be as high as 25% to 30%.

 A resurgent gold-working tradition can be seen in the Iron Age when, for example, ribbon torcs were produced in significant quantities. Ribbon torcs have been recorded mainly from counties in the northern half of Ireland – Antrim, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo – although some have been recorded in other counties also. They date mainly from the third century BC to the 2^nd Century AD.

Given the quantity and range of artefacts from Lough Gara it is hardly surprising to find evidence of goldworking.

Based on an article by Mary Cahill Prehistoric Gold from Co. Sligo in ‘Dedicated to Sligo: Thirty-four Essays on Sligo’s Past’. Editor: Martin A Timoney (2013)
For more information see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2p_v_g1zl8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HvPRGNPxss

St. Attracta's Holy Well

St Attracta's Holy Well
Clogher, County Sligo

         Some years ago, I wrote a short piece on my blog about St. Attracta and made reference to the Holy Well at Clogher, near Monasteraden, Co. Sligo, which bears her name. In July 2013 part of the wall of this well was demolished following an accident in which a young local man tragically lost his life. I am pleased to see that this important site has now been restored under the supervision of archaeologist, Martin Timoney.

St. Attracta was born in the 5th Century and was the daughter of a noble family. She founded a convent and hospice for travellers, where the seven roads met at Killaraght near Lough Gara that still existed as late as 1539. She also established churches and convents in Galway and Sligo. St Attracta was a contemporary of St. Patrick from whom she received the veil. A native of the County Sligo, she resolved to devote herself to God but was opposed by her parents. She fled to South Connacht and made her first foundation at Drumconnell, near Boyle, County Roscommon.

An article by Martin Timoney in Echoes of Ballaghaderreen 2014 provides some interesting information about this local landmark. He describes in some detail the crucifixion plaque set into the back wall:

‘This has the Crucified Christ with long hair and a pointed beard; he wears a rather rigid loin-cloth. His legs are proportionately far too thin. Either side are the Emblems of the Passion: a flail, hammer, pincers and bunches of reeds, a ladder, the pillar with a rope around it and a cock on top and a rope-like feature. There is an INRI above the cross which has a three-stepped base’.

Crucifixion Plaque

To the right of the crucifixion plaque there is a stone with an inscription. This has now been confirmed as I.H.S 1662, II, I:G. It is thought that the II may refer to the second year of reign of Charles II; The Restoration was in 1660. The initials I:G may stand for Iriel O’Gara of Moygara.

On the back wall there are eight large rounded stones. A drawing from c 1880, however, shows a total of twelve stones in position on top of the wall. Similar stones have been found at many Irish holy wells and are sometimes referred to as Praying Stones and Cursing Stones. Turning the stones clockwise was for good while turning them anti-clockwise was to inflict a curse.

Timoney’s ongoing research into Connacht crucifixion plaques records the earliest example as 1625 (Turlough) with the latest being about 1825. The nearest known crucifixion plaque to Clogher is at Tibohine with another such plaque at Cloonshanville, Frenchpark.

Finally, Martin Timoney reports that a die-stamped button was found in the back wall during the recent restoration work. The wording reads: “P&S Firmin 153 Strand”. He states that the Firmin Company was established in 1667 in London at Three Kings’ Court by Thomas Firming. They were at 153 Strand by 1796 but were no longer at this address after 1894. Therefore, the button was most likely manufactured sometime between 1796 and 1894 but it is not possible to say when it was placed at the well as an offering.

It would be interesting to know how the button got from the Strand in London to Clogher but then I expect that is another story.

Exploring Monasteraden's Ecclesiastical Roots

The village of Monasteraden (Mainistir Aodain) is believed to have got its name from an early ecclesiastical site founded there by Saint Aidan. However, this saint should not be confused with the Saint Aidan who founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne,  Northumbria, in the seventh century.

According to Gwynn and Hadcock (1988, 398), this is an early monastery that was probably founded by Aedhan O Fiachrach (d. 570: AU). Ui Fiachrach descended from Fiachra brother of Brion. There were two chief branches – those of the north and those of the south – the latter otherwise known as Cenelnaeda. The northern Ui Fiachrach occupied the greater part of Co Mayo and part of Co Sligo.

Monasteraden Graveyard, which overlooks Lough Gara, is unique in that it is one of a few circular graveyards still in use in Ireland. It is thought to contain the remains of an old church although the exact location is not known. The only mention of a church comes from 1836 when it was described as ‘the ruins of an old church’.  The graveyard and early ecclesiastical site are surrounded by a stone wall, resembling a large cashel.

This graveyard also contains a souterrain or underground chamber which consists of a drystone-built passage measuring roughly five metres in length, 1.5 metres wide and 1.08 metres high.  It has been suggested that these structures served as food stores or hiding places during times of strife. In 1985-6 a circular drystone-buit kiln was discovered within the enclosure. A quantity of charcoal and charred cereal grains were found in the kiln. The kiln was sealed and a stone seat now marks the location. The Monasteraden Graveyard also contains what archaeologists call a ballaun stone. This is a lozenge-shaped stone with a shallow depression in the centre of the upper surface. Such stones are frequently associated with early Christian sites.

We know from ecclesiastical history that as Saint Patrick travelled west and, after visiting Elphin and Croghan, he came around the north of Lough Gara through the present townlands of Cuppenagh and Templeronan.  It is said that St Patrick went to Gregraidhe of Loch Techet  which was the ancient name of Loch Ui Ghadhra (i.e. O’Gara’s Lake) or, as it is known today, Lough Gara. The Gregraidhe or Gregory comprised the baronies of Coolavin in Sligo and Costello in Mayo. The O’Garas were driven out of their lands by the Jordans and Costellos in the 14th century and settled Coolavin. They erected a castle at Moygara or Muy O’Gara.

To the east of Lough Gara are the remains of the early medieval monastery of St Attracta. The complex consists of a graveyard, a church and a holy well. The monastery is mentioned in early medieval sources and is believed to have been founded in the sixth century. The saint is said to have been the daughter of the druid Talan Cathbadin, son of Cathbadh of the Gregraidh of Loch Techet. Attracta received the blessing of St Patrick. The Feast of Saint Attracta is celebrated throughout the diocese of Achonry on the 11th August. The monastery of St Aedhan, like the ecclesiastical site of St Attracta in Killaraght, is located on what was the boundary between the living settlement at the tme and areas considered important in earlier periods.

Monasteraden is one of several monastic sites around Lough Gara including: Templeronan, Killaraght and Kilnamanagh. Other ecclesiastical nearby are: Cloonshanville and Tibohine to the south; Kilcolman to the west and Carrowntemple and Kilfree in the north.  Sadly, nothing of the old church is visible today.

Clogher Boulder Burial

The Clogher Boulder Burial consists of a quite large stone block resting on three smaller stone ‘feet’, thereby, resembling a small, short-legged portal tomb. Normally these sites are found in counties Kerry and Cork where around 80% of all known boulder burials are located. For this reason, its presence in this area is unusual. Excavations of such sites have suggested a Middle Bronze Age date for this burial monument of around 1500 -1300 BC.

In the main, such burials are single and contained within a small chamber made from stones. They may be found on their own or within or around stone circles.  The boulders frequently bear cup marks and were often picked for their attractive shape or rock patterns. The Clogher example contains indentations which, curiously, resemble the imprints of a very large thumb and four fingers. These markings have given rise to a local belief that they were made by a ‘giant’ throwing the large boulder.

Boulder burials consist of a single large coverstone or boulder resting on three or more smaller flat-topped supporting stones. Sometimes, as in the case of the Clogher example, small wedge-stones are placed between the coverstone and the supporting stones in order to make the upper surface a level plane. They differ from other types of megalithic tombs by the low stature of the supporting stones which act as props for the coverstone rather than as the walls of a burial chamber. Boulder burials stand above the ground and there is no evidence that they were covered by cairns or mounds. Archaeologists believe that many of these monuments were built in the middle or later Bronze Age as memorials over burial deposits and date from 1500-800 BC.

Excavation of some boulder burials have revealed a pit containing fragments of cremated bone and/or charcoal or burnt soil. It is thought that boulder burials may have acted as memorials over burial deposits.

The earliest evidence we currently have for human activity in Ireland dates to around 7000 BC. The physical remains left in the landscape are the only sources of information we have about our prehistoric ancestors. Of all the remains left behind by these people, their burial monuments have provided us with our most prolific source of artefacts and human remains and much of what we know about the prehistoric people of Ireland comes from this source. 

In County Sligo, the earliest signs of human settlement date to the Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age - c.7000-4000 BC). The presence of these early hunter-gatherer communities who exploited the rivers, lakes, marine and other natural resources around them is indicated by archaeological finds from nearby Lough Gara and from investigations at Carrowmore.

Carrowmore is the largest megalithic cemetery in Ireland and amongst the oldest and most important in Europe. It covers an area of about 0.5 km2 in the shadow of Knocknarea to the west. Some of the excavated tombs have produced dates between 4840 – 4370 BC. 

Overlooking Carrowmore megalithic cemetery on the summit of Knocknarea Mountain is the huge flat-topped cairn called ’Miosgan Meadhbha’ (Maeve’s Cairn), which is 55m in diameter and 10m high. There are spectacular views from here and the cairn is visible for miles around. It is unexcavated but may cover a passage tomb, possibly dating to c.3000 BC. Although the area of County Sligo is only 2.5% of the total area of Ireland, c.220 megalithic monuments are found here - 15% of Ireland’s total number (c.1450).

In addition to these highly visible types of burial monument, prehistoric people in Ireland also buried their dead in the ground more discreetly, sometimes in a stone-lined box, or cist, or even in a simple urn without any associated mound or structure on the ground surface to mark its presence. A typical cist burial comprises a rectangular or polygonal structure, constructed from stone slabs set on edge and covered by one or more horizontal slabs or capstones. Cists burials may contain an inhumation, a cremation, or both. They may be built on the ground surface or sunk into the ground or set within a cemetery cairn or cemetery mound. They date  mainly to the Early Bronze Age from around 2400 BC to 1500BC. A number of such burials have been found in the Monasteraden area.

The Clogher Boulder Burial is unusual for this part of Ireland and is further evidence of the rich and varied archaeological heritage to be found in and around Lough Gara. It is depicted in this stain glass panel which I made some time ago.

Clogher Stone Fort or Cashel

One of the better known ancient monuments in the Monasteraden area is Clogher stone fort or cashel (Irish caiseal from Latin castellum). It is located within the Coolavin Demesne a short distance west of Monasteraden Village. This stone fort is well preserved having undergone extensive re-building in the 19^th century.

It consists of an area enclosed by a circular stone wall which is 26m in diameter. The wall is constructed with large boulders at the base and progressively smaller slabs towards the top. There are a series of stepped ramps leading to wall walks, which allow access to the ramparts. The walls are 4.3m thick and 2m high. The entrance is a plain 1.8m wide passage and located on the south-east side.

The interior of the stone fort is raised by about one meter, perhaps, to accommodate the souterrains. These are underground structures, normally consisting of one or more passages and chambers. Generally, they are drystone constructions but some are rock-cut. They functioned as places of refuge and storage and are common to many ringforts.

One souterrain is located on the north-east of the entrance leading into the wall. It extends into the wall, turns left and extends through the wall and leads into a short chamber. In the south-west part of the site is a flight of 8 steps, which leads into another souterrain passage. This passage extends to the south for 8.1m and under the wall. It then extends up into a ’creep’, designed to reduce access and put an attacker at a disadvantage. It turns west into a curving passage for a considerable distance.

Stone forts or cashels are the equivalent of earthen banked ring forts but are much less common. Ring forts are Ireland’s most common field monument with 45,000 recorded examples. Dating of ring forts is difficult but most of those that survive are thought to have been built well after the first century with many built or used right into the medieval period (800 – 1500 AD).

Stone forts or cashels belong mainly to the Early Christian Period (450 – 800 AD) but some date from an earlier time.

The introductions of iron weapons and structural changes to society are thought to have led to a great increase in cattle farming leading, in turn, to an increase in cattle raiding and warfare. Cattle were the real unit and source of wealth at this time. Many such sites give excellent views which suggest that they may have been built more for status than for defence.

Fulacht Fiadh

Among the more intriguing archaeological sites found in Ireland are those known as fulacht fiadh. They are the most common archaeological sites in Ireland, with over 4,500 recorded examples from every county with the greatest concentration in the South of the country.

Radiocarbon dating indicates that the majority of fulachtaí fia were constructed during the mid to late Bronze Age (c.1500- c. 500 BC), though some Neolithic examples are known. Some of these sites were still in use up to medieval times.

They are generally found close to water sources, such as springs, rivers and streams or waterlogged ground and in the vicinity of sources of readily available stone and fuel. In 1998, Christina Fredengren carried out a survey around a selection of streams and wetlands on both the eastern and western sides of Lough Gara on the border between Sligo and Roscommon. She found that most of these sites were situated on the high plains on the western side of the lake, high up in the landscape.

Around Lough Gara the burnt mounds were mainly found beside small streams and often at heights on the slopes rather than nearer to the lakeshore. They are in the middle of the landscape with respect to height. What all the burnt mounds have in common is their location by what may have been slow-running water.

Christina Fredengren notes that the sites around Monasteraden, on the western shore of Lough Gara, tend to be located near monumental burials such as the ring-cairns and the standing stones, occupying the same position in the landscape. This would suggest that the living to some extent shared this altitude in the landscape with the dead.

Fulachtaí fia generally consist of three main elements: a mound of stones, a hearth used to heat the stones, and a trough, often lined with wood or stone, which was filled with water and into which the heated stones were placed to warm the water. Using this method researchers have found that the water in the trough could be brought to the boil in 30-35 minutes.

It is not known for certain what purpose these sites served and suggested use has included such diverse activities as: outdoor cooking areas, bathing, steam baths, the washing and dying of cloth and even as a means of brewing beer. Some archaeologists have cast doubt on the use of such sites for cooking as no remains of foodstuffs have been found. Other researchers believe the fulachtaí fia were multi-purpose and could have been used for all of these activities.

For example, bathing was seen as an important act in ancient Ireland with a specialised terminology associated with it. Fulachta fiadh may even have acted as centres for ritual or recreational bathing as they were in other countries since prehistoric times.

In August 2007 two Galway based archaeologists suggested that fulachtaí fia were used primarily for the brewing of beer. They experimented by filling a large wooden trough with water and adding heated stones. Once the water had reached approximately 65 degrees Celsius they added barley. After some 45 minutes they transferred the mixture to separate vessels to ferment adding wild plant flavourings and yeast. Three days later, they discovered that it had transformed into a drinkable light ale.

It is not known whether early sites were built by permanent settlements or nomadic hunters. Little evidence of permanent structures has been found in the vicinity of such sites although small hut sites are common. For now at least, these ancient structures remain something of a mystery with their function lost in the mists of time.

St. Attracta (5th Century)

St. Attracta was born in the 5th Century and was the daughter of a noble family. She founded a convent and hospice for travellers, where the seven roads met at Killaraght near Lough Gara, that still existed as late as 1539. She also founded churches and convents in Galway and Sligo.

St. Attracta was a contemporary of St. Patrick from whom she received the veil. A native of the County Sligo, she resolved to devote herself to God but was opposed by her parents. She fled to South Connacht and made her first foundation at Drumconnell, near Boyle, County Roscommon. Thomas Knox, historian, writing on information from the life of Saint Patrick, states that she was a daughter of Cathbad of Gregraide of Lough Techet (Lough Gara) and lived in parts of the fifth and sixth centuries. She is said to have had exceptional powers of curing the sick. Her convents were famous for hospitality and offering charity to the poor.

St. Attracta’s Holy Well is located at Clogher, a short distance from the village of Monasteraden. There is a crucifixion plaque, dating from the 1660s, in the wall on the north side of the well. The plaque shows a crucifixion scene carved in relief. Symbols of the crucifixion are displayed either side of the cross and include: a ladder, whip, hammer and pincers. This cross is thought to be the work of a local artist and there is a slab on the right of the cross, which bears the date 1668 and the letters IG. Healing powers have been attributed to the waters of this well.

Colgan gives an account of the Cross of St. Attracta, which was famous during the Middle Ages, and of which the O’Mochain family were hereditary keepers. The existence of this relic in the early years of the fifteenth century is evidenced by an entry in the “Calendar of Papal Letters” (V1, 451) from which we learn that in 1413 the cross and cup of St. Attracta (Crux ac Cuach Aracht) were then venerated in the church of Killaraght, in the Diocese of Achonry.

On 28 July, 1864, Pius IX authorised the Office and Mass of St. Attracta, which had lapsed into disuse, to be again celebrated in the Irish Church. The feast of St. Attracta, on 11 August, is given special honour in the Diocese of Achonry, of which she is the patroness.