Part 20 of Diary of a Tour in 1732 through parts of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland

Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition

Diary of a Tour in 1732 through parts of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland (Author: John Loveday)

Entry 19

Wednesday, 21. — As Mr Matthew was not at home yesterday when We were at his house, and We left ye letter We had to Him, — this morning very early He sent a Servant with a letter, desiring Us to return to Thomastown, that He might Himself shew Us ye place. We return'd ye complement for It would have been inconvenient to have gone-back. He had sent his Servant after Us to Goulding last night, when We were on ye road to Cashel. Cashel City is more compact than Tipperary, but built of ye same materials. It has Walls & Gates, but is in want of Water. Without ye town, on a rocky & steep hill much expos'd to winds, stands ye once very

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strong Castle³⁴ & Cathedral, Both one Building, to be seen many miles about ye Countrey, for from hence You have a view of ye golden Vale, &c. A wall runs round ye top of ye hill. Of ye Cathedral at present ye Choir only is roof'd & in repair, which is indeed long & lofty; ye Stalls &c. plain; They were put up by Archbishop Palliser, who was in other particulars a Benefactor to this Fabrick, before His time so ruin'd by ye Wars, as to be unfit for divine Service. And even now, there is not above twice a year any Use made of it, that It is not kept so neat & clean as might be otherwise expected. In a South arch is ye recumbent Effigies of Bishop Miler Magragh, who dy'd in 1622; a Monument to ye North for another Bishop They say, but ye Inscription is chizzel'd-out. A stone here with ye figure of a Religious cut on it, his hands join'd in a praying Posture. The very low Tower stands on fine lofty Arches before ye Entrance of ye Choir. King Cormac's Chappel on ye South side of ye Choir has no Timber in or about it; it is evidently older³⁵ than ye Cathedral & Castle; ye truth is that about ye time of ye coming of ye English, Donald O Brian King of Limerick, building a new Church from ye ground, converted this old Church of Cormac into a Chappel. Cormac was King & Bishop of Cashel, ye ancient Metropolis of Munster, was slain in 908, & bury'd at Cashel. The Vestry is decay'd, & They have no Bell here. The Castle joins on ye West to ye Cathedral. Possibly ye Cathedral & Castle at Old-Sarum in Wiltshire was much such another Building. Cover'dways still remaining, & a Bog-house with a vaulted room of very great height. To ye South is a stone, on which ye defaced figure of St Patrick; & They call ye Cathedral at Cashel which is dedicated to St Patrick — St Patrick's Rock, or barely ye Rock. The town lies South East from it, thence ye Cathedral has much ye look of That at Kilkenny, there being also a Beacon to ye North East of it. 'Tis a Tradition that ye Kings of Munster us'd to be proclaim'd at a Stone in ye ascent to ye Rock, but at present 'tis contested Which of two Stones is It.

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There are no Ecclesiastical houses, but ye Palace & Deanery; ye former is a large & handsome new house within ye City, not built in ye same place as ye old Palace, ye remains of which afforded some Materials to ye new building. The present Archbishop Bolton lives in a very hospitable open manner. The very ancient See of Emly is united to Cashel. Wedderby [Wetherby] is ye Dean, his place worth between 400 & 500 £ per Annum. The Choir is endow'd, whenever It shall be restor'd; for Salaries at this time are paid out to Persons, suppos'd to sing in it. There is a Throne for ye Bishop in St John's, ye only Church in ye town; Archbishop Palliser erected this Throne in 1717. Part of ye Church is in ruins, unroof'd; in which part lies bury'd an Arch-Deacon under an handsome Tomb, but Archbishop Thomas Fulwar under a plain Tomb; He dy'd March 31. 1667, Aetate 74. In ye Cemetery, another as plain a Tomb for his immediate Successor, Archbishop Thomas Price, who dy'd in 1685. Of ye Frier's Abbey (as they call it) — 'twas of Dominicans — is still remaining ye Shells — & Tower built on Arches, Gravestones &c. here. St. Francis' Abbey has a Tower on Arches also. In a bottom, West of ye Rock, are ye very large ruins of Hore-Abbey, of Cistercians; Tradition will have, that from hence is a subterraneous Passage to ye Cathedral. Some of ye Stones of this Abbey were us'd in building ye present Palace.

From Cashel to Ballysheelan, 2 Miles; to Longford-Pass, in ye Province of Leinster, & in ye County of Kilkenny, 8; to Ballyspellan Spaw, 5; to Durrow, at ye George, 5 Miles. This Road on a Level. The Spaw is chalybeate, as I take it; an house built by it, affords room to Gentlemen & Ladies, who spend their time here agreeably for there is a large Dancing-Room and it's Situation is pleasant on ye top of a Mountain. It is at present in great request.