It is with Knightly honour that we are empowered to have great knowledge from within & without. With such knowledge comes power, a power that is naturally produced & requires no additional influences to achieve great things. Power is not about the control of others, it is about harnessing the inner strength & full understanding of one's purpose in this particular existence, such truth that can only be realised at a knightly level“So continuing with day five, we were on the road again to our next stop-over, but first three important sites to seek out. A town, an island and a mountain journey; a whole day of adventures, lunch and shopping lie ahead, stepping back in time to discover the present…”
Day Five: 16th September: Daniel O’Connell Church and Oratory, Ring of Kerry, Cahersiveen, County Kerry: Cahersiveen with a population of around 1200 people is one of the westernmost towns in Ireland and hence one of the westernmost towns in Europe. It has remained principally a market town down the centuries and never fully enjoyed the benefits of the tourist industry perhaps making it one of the more original towns on the Ring of Kerry. The name Caherciveen can actually be spelt in 3 different ways, Caherciveen, Cahersiveen and Cahirciveen. The town of Cahersiveen lies at the foot of Beentee Mountain, on the river Fertha and overlooks Valentia Harbour. A beautiful marina has been added to the town in recent years and if you are a boating or marine enthusiast then it’s well worth a visit. Another unique and indiidual town, full of colour and vibrancy, and we were learning this is a large part of the character of this part of Ireland. Full of ‘arty’ and delightful shopping experiences and of course we did linger awhile to fully experience it all…
Colourful vibrant Cahersiveen <click to enlarge>
An interesting church, beautiful inside, (Grail clues hidden within) and being delighfully open, and the only church, unique in Ireland to be named after a layman. The church is located in the parish of Cahersiveen on the spectacular Ring of Kerry, a trip in itself, for the whole area is stunning and full of historic places to visit, such as castles, standing stones, abbeys and bays. The church bears the name of Daniel O’Connel ‘The Liberator’ who was born in Cahersiveen 6th August 1775 and who worked in his political career in the early 19th century to bring about Catholic Emancipation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Kerry
The outside of the church showing the informative plaques and artwork <click to enlarge>
The church bearing his name was built between 1888–1902, and is the most dominant feature/landmark in the town. It is constructed of Northern Irish granite from Co. Down, and built in a combination of gothic revivalist and medieval style architecture. The laying of a marble slab which serves as the cornerstone took place in 1888. This marble block is very special as it was a gift from Pope Leo XIII sourced from the catacombs in Rome. Buried in the grounds of the church are the remains of Monsignor Hugh O’ Flaherty whose heroic life is captured on the famous Gregory Peck Film “The Scarlet and the Black”. Monsignor O’Flaherty (1898–1963) a Cahersiveen native, was a Vatican diplomat during the second world war. During his time in the vatican O’Flaherty organised the concealment and escape of more than 5,000 people including Jews and prisoners of war from the German occupying forces without the knowledge or approval of his superiors. There are some nice memorial plaques around the grounds of the church and a imposing and colourful artwork painted upon one of the nearby walls.
The story inside was something else entirely, stunningly magnificant, especially for a church <click to enlarge>
https://www.theringofkerry.com/daniel-o-connell
Grail Bloodline Connections:
- Earl Gospatrick Mac Maldred (Karl’s 26th X GGF) 1042-1082 = 40
“So across the water it was to Valentia Island”
St John the Baptist Church Kilmore, Valentia Island: Located on the Skellig Coast in the Southern Peninsulas of the Wild Atlantic Way adjacent to the Ring of Kerry. Valentia Island is wild and remote and one of Ireland’s best kept secrets. It is everything one would wish for from an island. As one would think, lots of history to connect it to the sea, with even a knight or two within its history. Valentia Island is scattered with ancient cairns, dolmens, wedge tombs, standing stones, Ogham stones, a promontory fort, and the remains of churches and numerous beehive huts. Mug Ruith, or Mogh Roith, ‘slave of the wheel,’ a mythological, powerful, blind druid of Munster, is said to have lived on Valentia Island. Legend says he could grow to an enormous size, and that his breath caused storms and turned men to stone.
The Knights of Kerry: https://www.valentiaisland.ie/life-business/history-culture/knights-of-kerry/
Rugged and wild – Valentia Island <click to enlarge>
The name in Irish means Dairbhre, ‘oak isle’, and is one of Ireland’s most westerly points. It lies off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry and linked to the mainland by the Maurice O’Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee. Valentia Island’s permanent population is 665, as of the 2011CSO Census. It is about 7 miles long by almost two miles wide, making it the third-biggest island off the Irish coast. The English name ‘Valentia’ or ‘Valencia’ Island does not come from the Spanish city of Valencia, it comes from the Irish name of Valentia Harbour, cuan Bhéil Inse, “harbour-mouth of the island”. It was anglicized as ‘Bealinche’ and ‘Ballentia’ before evolving into ‘Valentia’ but is It is possible the spelling was influenced by Spanish sailors; there is a grave marker to Spanish sailors lost at sea in the Catholic cemetery at Kylemore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentia_Island
There is not much info about the actual ruin of The Church of Saint John the Baptist, it was built of slate at Kilmore in 1815, and was designed by James Pain and despite Cannon John Warburton’s lengthy absences from Valentia during his time as rector, a new Church of Saint John the Baptist was built at Kilmore in 1815, almost a generation before Knightstown was laid out and developed by Alexander Nimmo on behalf of the Knights of Kerry. The church could seat a congregation of about 60 people. However, as the Church of Ireland population of Valentia grew with the growth of Knightstown, the expansion of the slate quarry and the arrival of the transatlantic cable, the church became too small for the needs of a growing parish.
Church of St John the Baptist – beautiful, wild & almost lost in time… <click to enlarge>
Grail Bloodline Connections:
- Earl William Neville, 4th Earl of Abergavenny (previously visited by us) (5th Great Uncle) 1792-1868
“We left Valentia Island and enjoyed another spectacular drive up into the mountains to our next destination, almost of another world”
Timeless and ‘out of time’ <click to enlarge>
The Glen Cemetry Old, Saint Finan’s Bay, County Kerry,: This little ruin and extensive graveyard, is well off the beaten track and very much ‘off road’ for we had to abandon the car for a little walk there, along an old track. The graveyard did have a very magical and ‘other wordly’ feel about it, when there. Another capsule hidden in time…
The Old Glen Cemetery. Stunning, magical and hidden in time…. <click to enlarge>
It was very hard finding anything about the burial ground, it took a while, but i came up with a little something. The cemetery is located in the grounds of an old ruined church, which was probably dedicated to St. Finan (otherwise Fionán) with spectacular views of St. Finan’s Bay. The cemetery is now ‘closed’, except for occasional burials in a family plot, and has been replaced by the newer Glen Cemetery. Old Killmagh Church (in the Irish language: Cill Imleagh) is traditionally is associated with Saint Fionan, founder on the Monastery on Skellig Michael as well as Monasteries on Inishfallen Island and Aghadoe in Kilarney, Church Island in Waterville and the Derrynane Holy Well here in the Glen. This ancient Church is listed in The Papal Taxation List (1302 -1306) for the Diocese of Ardfert. It was noted in the list of parochial churches in 1622 and again as being in ruins in 1756. The ruins visible today are that of a 19th Century Church built against the northern wall of the original medieval church.
Grail Bloodline Connections:
- Earl Gospatrick Mac Maldred (26th GGF) 1042-1082
“I have decided to start a new page for the step of the way, as lots to share and comment on, as we visit on Day Six: 17th September: St Fachtna’s Catherdral Rosscarberry, and the Drombeg Stone Circle Co Cork. On Day Seven: 18th September: Saint Fin Barre’s Catherdral. Cork, and Christ Church: Rath-Healy, Fermoy, County Cork”
“For now its new digs and bed!”
‘The Keeper of Scrolls’ January 2022
<moon.willow@ntlworld.com>
