CHAPTER XX

Jobstown, Mount Seskin and the Tallaght Hills

Starting from Terenure, our route lies along the straight, uninteresting road to Templeogue village, beyond which, to the right, is Templeogue House, the ancient residence of the Domvile family, and for some time the residence of Charles Lever, the novelist. A mediaeval castle stood here until the beginning of the 18th century, when it was taken down, and a dwellinghouse erected on its site by Sir Thomas Domvile, and this in turn was replaced by the present edifice in the early part of last century. A portion of the old castle yet remains, having been so strongly built as to defy the efforts of the workmen who were employed to take it down, and it had, perforce, to be incorporated in the two dwellinghouses which successively rose over the foundations of this ancient stronghold.

The Domviles, when proprietors of this place, possessed or assumed the right of diverting the water from the old city watercourse which passed through their grounds; and in connection with this matter, the story is told that Sir Compton Domvile, in 1738, when his nephew, Lord Santry, had been condemned to death for the murder of one of his servants, threatened, when all other means of intercession had failed, to cut off the entire water supply from the city if the sentence were carried out. This threat had the desired effect, and the noble murderer's escape was connived at by the authorities.

No doubt the threat might easily have been put into execution, but the prospect of having the whole water supply of Dublin turned into his house and grounds could scarcely have been a cheerful one for the eccentric proprietor, even though he might have had the satisfaction of driving the citizens of that day to quench their thirst with other beverages.

We next pass the village and almost vanished hill of Balrothery, a short distance from which, across the fields, will be seen the ivied ruins of Tymon Castle.

To the east of Balrothery hill is a spring well called the Limekiln well, originating a stream of water which flows into the old city watercourse. This well, in ancient times, enjoyed the reputation of supplying St. Patrick's Cathedral with water, although the only possible ground for such a claim was the fact that the city watercourse, which received the stream from the well, flowed beside the Cathedral.

A little to the west of this well there was formerly an oblong enclosure, about an acre in extent, surrounded by a fosse, and traditionally reputed to be the site of a castle and village, of which all trace has now disappeared.

On the high ground between Tallaght and Balrothery, an old thorn tree marks the site of an ancient holy well, which was destroyed many years ago by a local farmer in a fit of irritation at the injury to his fences by people drawing water from it. He carted a load of slaughterhouse refuse to the place and ordered his men to throw it into the well to spoil it, but none of them could be induced to undertake so unpopular a task, and ultimately he had to do it himself. On the way home, however, his horse ran away, and he was seriously injured by a fall from his cart - a visitation universally regarded as a punishment from heaven, due to his sacrilegious conduct.

We next enter the village of Tallaght, described in the previous chapter. Prior to the construction of the modem road to this place from Terenure, now over a hundred years ago, the coach road to Blessington, instead of entering Tallaght, passed a little to the north of it, outside the grounds of the old palace, proceeding in a straight line from the Green Hills road to the sharp angle on the tram road opposite the Protestant Church, where there formerly was a turnpike. On the side of the old road, at this point, there stood for generations a blacksmith's forge, whose long career of usefulness came to an end when the road was altered. The site is, however, easily identified by the deep deposit of cinders to be seen on raising the soil.

There is nothing further worthy of notice along the main road until we reach the small group of cottages called Jobstown, where we take the turn to the left, known as the Killinardan road, up the steep slope of Knockannavea Mountain or Tallaght Hill. The road becomes rougher as it ascends higher up the mountainside, and we pass between high hedge-banks of hawthorn and furze, with occasional growths of fern and the graceful lusmore or foxglove. Emerging, at length, from the enclosing hedges, our view extends over the plain and Bay of Dublin, while to the eastward will be seen Mount Pelier, Kilmashogue, the Three Rocks and Killakee Mountains; and continuing our journey, near the top of the road we meet, on the left, a narrow lane, said to be portion of an ancient track by which, in remote times, the dead were borne from the plains to be interred in the churchyards among these wild hills. On the right will now be observed a picturesque little defile overgrown with furze and stunted woods, rising over the far side of which is the hill called Lugmore, an offshoot of Knockannavea. Extending away towards Dublin will be seen the wide Blessington road, and at times may be heard the shrill whistle of the steam tram echoing among the hills, its harshness agreeably softened by distance.

We now pass a small farmhouse in a somewhat exposed position, sheltered by a plantation of elder and thorn bushes, and shortly afterwards reach the summit of the mountain called Knockannavinidee, locally known as Killinardan Hill. The road here becomes a mere bridle-track through the furze, the turf springs under our feet, and the higher mountains to the southward come into view. Mount Pelier with its conspicuous ruin lies on our left; further to the southward is the great Military road winding like a white ribbon across Killakee Mountain; below it is the road from Bohernabreena through Piperstown, and due south the towering summit of Seechon.

After reaching the brow of the hill, a small pond will be seen on the left; about half a mile beyond this pond the track runs beside a rough stone wall with a double line of barbed wire on top; keep along by this wall until it turns at a sharp angle to the left, and on the summit of the eminence to the right, about a hundred yards away, is Raheen Dhu, one of the most perfect raths to be found in the neighbourhood of Dublin.

As all this portion of the mountain is covered with heather and gorse, the rath is not easily distinguishable from the rest of the hill, but once located, its two concentric rings and the remains of the central mound can be readily traced.

From Raheen Dhu we make our way up to Knockannavea Mountain, the actual summit of which is somewhat difficult to identify, as there are a number of small eminences, all apparently about the same height, scattered over the heather clad tract at the top. Looking westward from any of the higher points, we can see the long range of hills at the far side of the valley through which the tram road passes; directly below and glittering in the sun are the Brittas fish-ponds, over which rises Cupidstown Hill; to the right of that is Slieve Thoul, and then Knockananiller and Knockandinny.

From here we proceed due west across the mountain to the rising ground opposite, where a plantation encloses the house called Mount Seskin, properly Mone Seskin (the bog of the seskin or morass) in which form the name appears on the older maps. This house, now much dilapidated, was formerly a well-equipped country residence, and although the dwelling itself is comparatively small, it formed, in conjunction with its great array of out-offices, an extensive establishment, evidently designed to accommodate a considerable staff of servants and workmen in the old days when labour was cheap and people were glad to work for a few pence a day. The house is provided with a belfry, which, with the arched windows, at the back, gives it a somewhat ecclesiastical appearance, and the hall door, originally so large as to be out of proportion to the rest of the building, has been reduced in size in recent years. Dense plantations surround and shelter the place, investing it with an air of solitude and seclusion, which is enhanced by the deserted condition of the old coach road passing directly in front of it. This was the only route to Blessington until the new road through the Slade of Saggart was constructed over a hundred years ago, down to which time a number of coaches passed each way every day, so that the house was in a most convenient position for communication with Dublin.

Returning along the old road towards town, in about a mile will be seen a by-road to the left leading to a couple of dilapidated cottages, representing the ancient village of Corbally, according to local tradition, a place of importance some 250 years ago, possessing a jail and marshalsea. Part of a wall still remains which is said to have formed portion of the town wall, and the site of the jail is also pointed out, as well as that of the toll-house, where toll was paid in corn. Adjoining is a field called "The Trench" or "Furrow Pit," reputed to be the burial place of a number of the inhabitants who died of plague about 300 years ago. The history of the locality does not tend to bear out these traditions, which are probably of much earlier date than that which is popularly assigned to them.

Continuing our journey along the high road, in about three quarters of a mile we enter a wood where there is an old farmhouse on the left, with a broken tree surrounded by a stone seat in front. Just beside this house will be seen a disused laneway leading to the ruins of an old country house named Johnville, at one time the residence of Mr. Roe, of distillery fame, who had a very pretty garden sloping up the hill, where still remain some splendid specimens of cypress and other evergreens. While the owner lived, the whole place was maintained in excellent order, but after his death it was untenanted for a long time and became greatly dilapidated. About 1845 a Dr. Luther, hydropathist and homaeopathist, took the house and fitted it up as a hydropathic establishment, spending a large sum in erecting Turkish, douche, and vapour baths, while outside in the grounds were mud and plunge baths, formed by damming the little stream that flows down from the mountain. The place was, however, only indifferently patronised, probably owing to the difficulty of reaching it, and after struggling for a few years it was abandoned, and has been going to ruin ever since. Scattered about through the building may still be seen the remains of the marble mantelpieces and hearthstones, the Portland stone staircases and ornamental work of various descriptions, all more or less broken by portions of the building which have fallen on them. The wine cellar is almost intact, and may, perhaps, still contain some of the original stock concealed beneath the accumulations of earth and rubbish.

At the rear is a well, now all but choked up with earth; also the basin and rockery of a fountain which was supplied by a pipe from the stream at a higher level. The masonry of the open-air mud bath is still perfect, but several summer-houses which stood in the grounds to serve as a dressing-room for the guests have disappeared.

The situation of the place - on the side of the mountain overlooking the Dublin plain - is very beautiful, and it is surprising that it enjoyed only a brief spell of popularity. Now that a ready means of reaching this neighbourhood has been provided by the steam tram, such an establishment would have very much better chances of success. The by-road passing the place is not now maintained in order for general traffic, but is quite practicable in dry weather for cyclists wheeling their machines. By continuing the by-road beyond Johnville, the tram road will be reached close to the Embankment.

Pedestrians should take return tickets from Terenure to Jobstown, paying the difference if the tram is taken at the Embankment on the return journey. The distance to be walked, starting from Jobstown and returning to the Embankment, is a little over six miles.

Cyclists can ride to Jobstown, from which it will be necessary to walk with their bicycles the whole way over Tallaght Hill or Knockannavea until they reach Ballinascorney Gap. They can then ride most of the way to Brittas, from which the old road to Tallaght, not the tram road, should be taken, passing Mount Seskin and joining the tram road near Jobstown. The route over Tallaght Hill from Jobstown is impracticable for motors of any description.

The authorities consulted in the preparation of this chapter are:- Handcock's History and Antiquities of Tallaght, and Dalton's History of the County of Dublin.