The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-07-21
TRF ANCIENT MONUMENTs OF MEATH.
The following circular regarding the for
nation of Meath Antiquarian Association

| Perhaps there is no part of Ireland 30
| rich in historic associations and antigua
| rian remains as the county Meath. From
| the dawn of our history this fair aud fertile
| plain has been the scene of great events,
and scarcely any age has passed that bas
not left here its characteristic and endur-
| ing memorials. The eaEthen fort, the
cromlech, the sepulchral mound, carry
back the Imagination to the dim era when
monarchs reigned at Tara, and the mystic
rites of Druidism were celebrated in forest
OF on hill. The stone-roofed oratory, the
| sculptured cross, the pillar-tower speak of
| the lives and labors of those studions and
| sanity men who made Ireland, for moro
| than three centuries, the light of'the West
ern world. The stately casAes, abbeys,
that conqueriog Norman race which "unitsd
the indomitable vigor of the Scandinavian
with the bnoyant vivacity of the Gaul,"
and has left here 80 many evidences of its
piety, its valor, aud its skill.
Perhaps we may boast also that in no
other part/of Ireland have the precious
heirlooms of the past been, on the whole,
30 carefully preserved. The reason is not
far to seek. Scarcely anywhere else in this
country has the continuity of the local
order of things rem aimed so unbroken for
such length of time. As there has been
no fresh cofouisatiou here on a large scate
since the close of the twelfth century, the
mass of the population, continuing un
changed in race, has always regarded the
past with traditionary reverence, and has
respected it's remains. Again, the storms
of confiscaton that swept the island in the
to have abated their violence when passing
Meath. A few ''old trees of the land"
were spared, and happily flourish to this
day vigorous and green. No email portion
of the possessions of the ancient barOns
of Meath still remaius in the kindly hands
cAr~ -. rl-A Cna
care for the preservation OF our ancient
buildings has been shown by the lords of
the soil here than in other parts of the
country is therefore not to be wondered at.
Much credit is due also to the clergy of
both Churches, who have often prevented
the wanton injury of our ancient monu,
ments, and some of whom have devoted
themselves to the illustration of our ma
tional or local archaeology. Every one
acquainted with the subject will acknoWl-
edge the immense value of the learned
and laborious researches of the Rev.
Mervyn Archdaif, in the last century, and
of Dean Butler and Dean Cogan in our
own days.
Bat it would be o great mistake to sup
pose that the state of the ancient monu
ments of Meath Is such as to leave nothing
to be desired. On the contrary, the con-
ble and disgracefnl. Not to speak of many
acts of vandalism that we know on un-
questionable authority to have been per-
petrated in the county in comparatively |
recent times, some instances of destruction
and decay occurring within the last few
years, and within few miles of Trim,
may be mentioned. Ofthe Castle of Sour.
logstown, which was coeval with the Nor
man invasion, and which remained almost |
perfect when described by Wakeman and
Wilde, literally not one stone rests on an
other. The greater part of the old border |
90 folln
the arch of the grand east window OF the |
cathedral has given way, whilst the priory |
of @ snons regular, close by, is losing every |
Architectural feature That could indicate a I
etyle or help to fix date. The beauteous
window tracery of the little church of
Moy mot is fast disappearing. Tue qnatDt- |
ly carved tom bstone of SIR Robert Dillon,
erected in 1895 by bis widow, Margaret
Sarsfeld, q daughter of the houee of Lucan,
was broken not many months since, and its
fragments scattered about the churchyerd |
OF Tara. Even if there was no Dillon left |
in Meath to guard Dillon's tomb, one
would have thought that the memories |
associated with the stainless name of Sars
field should have rendered such an outrage |
Impossible. In the Castle of Riverston
cattle are housed, where once
Knight and page ot.N household ssh squire
Or gathered round the ample Are"
When we ref ,ct that all this havoc Is d1e
scarcely more to "Time's efacing finger"
than to the rude hand of man, our regret
gives place to indignation.
But the strangest feature in this case Is
that while everyone condemns this barba
rous neglect and destruction of our vene-
rable monuments, no one seems to have |
thought of devisng any means to meet the
evil. Scarcely any person would admit |
himself to be so devoid of feeling, taste,
and culture as to be quite Indifferent on |
this subject. But while everyone saws
something ought to be done, or wonders |
something has not been done, nobody gives |
himself any trouble about the matter, and |
so the work of ruin goes steadily on.
Under these circumstances, it has occur |
red to q few gentlemen to try if it would |
be possible to form a society for the pre-
servation of all that is left of our ancient |
structures. At first sight it would not
seem as if there should be any insuperable |
difficulty in getting one or two hundred
gentlemen to associate for that purpose
The rest would be easy. Public opinion on |