| The Hill of Allen, as seen from a motorway, county Kildare. This is where Fionn MacCumhall used to have his headquarters. |
| Another view of the Hill of Allen, from a little closer. These horses came over to say hello as I perched on the wall separating the road and Pollardstown Fen. |
| Much of the Hill of Allen is forested, like this... |
| ...and as the sun set, the light on the trees was lovely. |
| But unfortunetly, the north side of the hill has been destroyed to make way for this quarry, apparently mining coal and gravel to feed the Irish building industry. |
| This tower was raised in the early 19th century. During the construction, the bones of a man and a woman, both well over 6 feet tall, were found buried here. They were re-buried under the foundations of the tower. This tower was open to the public, but a wave of vandalism compelled the landowners to close it. The local folklore claims that the bones were indeed those of Fionnn MacCumhall. (However, I was also told that Fionn is buried in the now-collapsed mound on top of Si Beag, in county Leitrim.) |
| This motorway is being built so that heavy traffic can bypass Kildare town instead of going through it. Visible in this picture is a water-main project that is being built to divert water from Pollardstown Fen and the Curragh Aquifer (a Class 1 habitat, protected by the EU Directive 85/337/EEC) into the county Kildare water supply. This project is being carried out illegally-- the required Environmental Impact Statement having not been done properly, and in violation of several EU environmental conservation directives. |
| A lovely evening view of the distant Wicklow Mountains, as seen from half way up the slope of the Hill of Allen. |
| A picture of your humble author and photographer, at the site of Brighid's Well, the natural spring which is sacred to Saint Brighid of Kildare. |
(c) 2003 by B. Cathbad Myers. All rights reserved.