​​Lurgan Canoe

​Lurgan bog was owned by Mr. Pat Coen. A canoe called Lurgan canoe was found in Lurgan bog in the year 1901. It was dated back to the year 2000 B.C which was the early bronze age. It was 50 foot long and was easily the biggest ever found. It is 30 inches deep and 3 foot, 8 inches at its widest point. It was hewn from oak but the exposure to air turned it brown. It is now in the National Museum, Dublin.

​Monasitc Site (Shrule)

​This site is located at Shrule about a mile from the town centre. It was a monastery, where the Monks lived in small cells. There is a Tau stone on the site. These are very rare in Ireland. Nowadays, the remains of the children’s burial grounds can be found on this site. Children buried in no mans land were to keep evil spirits away.
​
Cappagh Well (Tobar na Croise Naofa)Patrician site associated with Saint Patrick. It contains Tobar na Croise Naofa outdoor altar, Vestry, Ash tree, Deans Grave and Cnoc an Damhsa. There are many stories associated with the ash tree. One such story is that a cross is said to have flown out of the ash tree when struck by an axe. Locals remember big pattern days held here on Reek Sunday.

​Cappagh Well (Tobar na Croise Naofa)

Patrician site associated with Saint Patrick. It contains Tobar na Croise Naofa outdoor altar, Vestry, Ash tree, Deans Grave and Cnoc an Damhsa. There are many stories associated with the ash tree. One such story is that a cross is said to have flown out of the ash tree when struck by an axe. Locals remember big pattern days held here on Reek Sunday.

​Corcoran’s Mill

The “Mill”, as it is known locally is centuries old. It is situated at Drimbane, about four miles from Dunmore. The exact date in which the mill came into operation is not known, but we do know that generations used the service. The mill was closed in 1960.

The farmers brought their oats and barley there to be ground into meal. We think that farmers of the area travelled about five or six miles to the mill as there were lots of other mills in the area too.

The barley meal was used for animal feeds. The mill closed for the summer. The mill had to be booked about ten days in advance.
​
The grain was first brought to the kiln, where it was dried. The grain was first spread out in a loft, above the fire, and it had to be turned every half-hour or so, with a brush. When dry, it was then taken to the shelling stone to remove the shell and from there, to the winnowing machine to remove the chaff. When this was completed, it was then brought to the grinding stone for grinding. At this stage, it was oat-meal.

​The whole procedure usually took about eight hours. The miller looked after the mill. The place where the water left the mill was called the mill-race. John Corcoran was the last miller.

Dolmen

​There is a dolmen in Garrafrauns. It dates back to 2000 B.C. It is a Neolithic structure. It is built on a little hill in a boggy field. A dolmen is a burial chamber. It consists of three or more stones standing upright in the ground. Balanced on top of these was a larger capsule. The two upright stones at the front of the tomb formed the doorway and were usually higher than the stones at the back. The chamber underneath the capstone was where the ashes were buried. Some of the capstones were very heavy weighing up to one hundred tons.
​
The pagan people believed that the dead were going on a journey to a new life. They put into many of the graves pots of food, tools and beads which they believed the dead person would need for the journey.

​Fulacht Fiadh

​There is a fulacht fiadh in Kilooney in our parish. To build a fulacht fiadh you would need a stream and timber nearby. A fulacht fiadh is a type of cooking place. A fulacht fiadh was a rectangular hole in the ground and the sides were lined with wooden planks. These were made watertight by packing clay on the outside. This trough was filled with water and the meat was placed in it. Large stones were heated in a fire and dropped into the water until the water boiled.

Dunmore Castle

The Castle stands on a mound, 42ft above ground level and above the river which flows on the South side. The mound was originally a piece of land jutting in towards the Sinking river. The castle was erected by Walter De Birmingham, Lord of Athenry, about 1225. In 1249, it was burned by the army of the King of Connacht. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Birmingham’s in arms against the Queen, in 1569 Sir Henry Sidney besieged and took the castle. The present castle was partially rebuilt and used in the 16 or 17 century. The De Birmingham family held it until Cromwellian plantations and it remained inhabited until the last century.
​ 
The De Birmingham’s were Normans and the castle is a typical Norman castle. It is a massive rectangular tower of four storeys situated on a motte with the remains of a fortifying wall around it. The tower is bare inside and the mullioned windows on the top floor which again suggest that it was partially rebuilt in the late 16 or early 17 century. The walls were two metres thick. It was a motte and bailey type castle.

The castle was built on top of the motte. The workmen lived in the bailey. A draw-bridge linked the motte to the bailey. The castle was a busy place. It had a garden and trades-men worked in the bailey. The Lord and Lady lived on the top floor. The lady spent her time sewing in a sunny room. The Lord carried on his work in the great hall. Sometimes banquets were held here. There was meat of every kind – pork, beef, venison, goose, pheasant and even swans. It was not very fresh because they had no means of preserving food, so the spices made it taste better.

The castle had a good view of the country-side. It was built on the banks of the sinking river, which made it easier to defend. Hundreds of people would have worked on building the castle. Up to one hundred and fifty houses might have been knocked to get the right stone.

Although it was now in a derelict state, it is maintained by the Board of Works and is worth viewing. Local people pass it on the Bog Road walk.