Ballybane 'Souterrain'

bonzodog2

linky


Does anybody know anything about this ? I noticed it on a map once somewhere (it's behind SuperValu in Ballybane/off part of Monivea Park)

PopeBuckfastXVI

Seems to have been a ring fort there:
http://ims0.osiemaps.ie/website/publicviewer/main.aspx#V1,532431,726690,8

hit 'historical black and white' to see it mapped in the 1830's

fifib

sssshhhh! its a secret! least it was when i was alot yunger. many a sneaky fag or "goon" of cider was had down there!!

The circle of trees look like the outline of a ring.

ronnie3585

Deleted User wrote: »

The circle of trees look like the outline of a ring.

Well spotted.

Thargor

Myself and another guy wandered in there one night going home after a house party up in Sailin and we didnt have a clue where the feck we were, after a while I was starting to thing we'd ended up down the Tuam Road somewhere, its dark in there.

ronnie3585

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Well spotted.

It took me a while to find. I thought I'd share.

martyboy48

There was o 'mound' of earth around it... I used to frequent the place in my younger years

lucianot

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

Seems to have been a ring fort there:
http://ims0.osiemaps.ie/website/publicviewer/main.aspx#V1,532431,726690,8

hit 'historical black and white' to see it mapped in the 1830's

Nice one!

I can't believe it, I passed by a couple of times and didn't even notice.

bonzodog2

OK, let me elaborate a little.
"an underground chamber or passage" is the definition from
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/souterrain.
Which is not the same as a ring fort. I wondered if anyone knew anything about its alleged underground content. It was the word souterrain that initially sparked my interest when idly looking at a map one day a few years ago

LadyMayBelle

Lived near there and always remember being told it was a fairy fort, and that no builder would build there etc because they'd end up with thorns in their bed (cue those school story books form the 80's)

lucianot

Maybe it was a cairn...

Souterrains and ring forts often go together.

lucianot

I went to see it today, nice place. Maybe the souterrain was some sort of storage area in the enclosure. You can see the fragments of one concentric external ring, that's all.

bonzodog2

lucianot wrote: »

I went to see it today, nice place.

Glad you enjoyed it

lucianot wrote: »

Maybe the souterrain was some sort of storage area in the enclosure. You can see the fragments of one concentric external ring, that's all.

[pedant] you'd want more than one to be able to call 'them' concentric :P
[/pedant]

cardoor

Deleted User wrote: »

Souterrains and ring forts often go together.

You are correct. It is both.

I could be wrong but I would swear that people stayed in the passage way for a night before. Willie Henry who lives a few doors from it so if you ever meet him buy him a pint and e will tell you all about it and other facinating history of Galway

schween

My mams always telling me that she used to play there as a child. About 30 years ago or so. I've never actually been in there though.

lucianot

bonzodog2 wrote: »

Glad you enjoyed it


[pedant] you'd want more than one to be able to call 'them' concentric :P
[/pedant]

One more concentric ring then? A second concentric ring? A concentric centric center?

So where is the underground passage then? Or is it just a fantasy name for a supposed entrance to the other world where taxes are lower?

CaliforniaDream

I grew up here. Spent ALL my time outdoors down here, or 'the woods' as we call it.

I could climb every tree in the place. We often tied rope from them and made a swing. Built loads of huts and played all sorts of games down there. We used to tell loads of ghost stories there and there was always the one about the ringfort. The mounds that are around it used to be open passage ways until people deemed them dangerous. So one day they decided to fill them in. But as they were doing it they didnt realise there was a boy playing in them and he got trapped alive. He still haunts the woods to this day.
That's the short version obviously.

It's funny how much time I spent there growing up and now that I've moved out I haven't been in there for about 5 years. It was never the same when they put up all the fencing. Really ruined the place.

Fuinseog

i definitely wouldn't explore the place on my own.

whats th name of the cave in riverside?

cardoor

Fuinseog wrote: »

whats th name of the cave in riverside?

Coopers

bonzodog2

cardoor wrote: »

Coopers

Where's that then ?

gerkeo

I remember going down there years ago from merview school with an archaeologist / local historian type guy. It is the ruins of a very large ringfort. The Souterrain was closed up about 30 years ago as it was deemed unsafe, there were many ringforts up around there, theres another one in merlin park woods too near the castle, also a castle up in race course and a bronze age cemetery was excavated in the 1970s up in Rockland near Supervalu. Also there is a monastry and round tower ruin up in Roscam along the shore.

A small bit more info of who excavated the ringfort
http://www.jstor.org/pss/25550137

Polka

Ballybane ring fort, Riverside cave...sounds really interesting, do you have more info about it???

bonzodog2

lucianot wrote: »

One more concentric ring then? A second concentric ring? A concentric centric center?

So where is the underground passage then? Or is it just a fantasy name for a supposed entrance to the other world where taxes are lower?

I take you do know what a pedant is ? And apologies for sometimes being one. 'Concentric' implies 2 circles that have the same centre
:rolleyes:
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Das Kitty

Remind me where abouts Cooper's cave is.

We were always looking for a way in to the souterrain as kids. Never heard of a ghost!

Another place we used to hang about was in Wellpark by the Pond, walkway down to the Dublin Road between the Eye and the Garage. You used to have to go in under bushes. Don't know if it's still there or not.

unJustMary

Das Kitty wrote: »

Another place we used to hang about was in Wellpark by the Pond, walkway down to the Dublin Road between the Eye and the Garage. You used to have to go in under bushes. Don't know if it's still there or not.

Interesting. I doubt it though, looking at the sat-map, I'd say it's probably been built over by ...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=53.281888,-9.02808&spn=0.003073,0.009645&t=h&z=17&msid=105829947892211882597.00047f31b3fafdbc4b9b6

darrenh

Das Kitty wrote: »

Remind me where abouts Cooper's cave is.

It's actually behind Glenburren Park and not in Riverside. I think the name Cooper's is made up as well. I think it was named after a famous cave with the same name that was used in The Last of the Mohican's.

Fuinseog

Das Kitty wrote: »

Remind me where abouts Cooper's cave is.

We were always looking for a way in to the souterrain as kids. Never heard of a ghost!

Another place we used to hang about was in Wellpark by the Pond, walkway down to the Dublin Road between the Eye and the Garage. You used to have to go in under bushes. Don't know if it's still there or not.

i was last in coopers cave 30 years ago. its just above where the river runs underground. does that river actually have a name? the one that runs behind dunnes on the headford road.
the landscape was different back then, no big road.
i went in and came out as black as soot, people used to light fires in it. the mother went ape****.
it goes in a fair bit, just how far i cannot remember. any takers for where it comes out, if at all?

Fuinseog

darrenh wrote: »

It's actually behind Glenburren Park and not in Riverside. I think the name Cooper's is made up as well. I think it was named after a famous cave with the same name that was used in The Last of the Mohican's.

its been known as coopers cave for at least 60 years. is it marked on the OS map?
as with any cave do not explore by yourself

Fuinseog

i think there is a souterrian out the tuam road. there is a ring fort just off the road, there used to be a sign for it, but is was removed.
I am nearly 100% sure there is a underground passage in the centre of the fort. about 15 miles out the road.

darrenh

Fuinseog wrote: »

it goes in a fair bit, just how far i cannot remember. any takers for where it comes out, if at all?

It goes in around 20 to 30 metres and has a higher ceiling at the back. There are little passages in there as well that only a child could fit through. I remember going into them and getting really claustrophobic. Long long time ago.

darrenh

Fuinseog wrote: »

its been known as coopers cave for at least 60 years. is it marked on the OS map?
as with any cave do not explore by yourself

I saw it marked on a old map before and it was just marked 'cave'. I cant for the life of me find it anywhere.

Coopers cave is a real cave in New York that was made famous in The Last of the Mohicans. The book was first published in 1826.

Is it really known as Coopers cave for 60 years?

Since the road has gone in beside it, 20 or so years ago, it's supposedly unstable. The entrance is all covered over with bushes and trees as there's no longer many kids around the area who venture in there on a daily basis and keep the bushes away!

bonzodog2

According to this page
link
it was 'partially filled with rubble' over thirty years ago

darrenh

Well I grew up right beside it and I'm 30 and I can honestly tell you it's not anyway filled with rubble. I know as kids we could have had amazing imaginations but having your own cave as a playground is something you remember quite clearly.

Maybe the cave I know is not Coopers and that there is another one near it that has been filled in.

The Sandy river splits in two in that area and both then disappear underground. On the map where it splits to the left it runs into the side of a small hill and disappears. The split to the right disappears into a cave that is closed off by iron bars, again which only a small child/mischievous boy can fit through.

airvan

Going back to the one in Ballybane. I've been through it a few times walking the kids. Often wondered at it's odd configuration. So that's what it was, a ringfort. Never thought of that.

There are a lot of ringforts in this country. They are very visible from the air. I'm told most of them were no more interesting than cattle pens used to protect the livestock from the depredations of the wildlife and the rival tribes. The fairyfort curse thing protects them even to this day.

Michifuz

Fuinseog wrote: »

i think there is a souterrian out the tuam road. there is a ring fort just off the road, there used to be a sign for it, but is was removed.
I am nearly 100% sure there is a underground passage in the centre of the fort. about 15 miles out the road.

Where exactly on the Tuam Road?

unJustMary

Fuinseog wrote: »

i was last in coopers cave 30 years ago. its just above where the river runs underground. does that river actually have a name? the one that runs behind dunnes on the headford road.

Terryland River? I'm sure I've seen it marked as that on the paper Ordinance Survey map of Galway.

darrenh

unJustMary wrote: »

Terryland River? I'm sure I've seen it marked as that on the paper Ordinance Survey map of Galway.

It's known as both Terryland River and Sandy River.

friendface

bonzodog2 wrote: »

OK, let me elaborate a little.
"an underground chamber or passage" is the definition from
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/souterrain.
Which is not the same as a ring fort. I wondered if anyone knew anything about its alleged underground content. It was the word souterrain that initially sparked my interest when idly looking at a map one day a few years ago

Were the Souterrains not just used to bring in livestock for safety. I think I remember reading about them years ago in our history class. During a raid or during bad weather, all the livestock would be moved down to the souterrain.

Never seen one though so I'm not sure what they're like.

happyoutscan

Ringforts were single family farmsteads with roughly 30,000 left throughout the country. The original number would have been much higher. Souterrains were used for storage, shelter and safety when necessary but would not have been used generally in storing livestock, they would not have been big enough. For this, most of the ringforts would have had an additional wooden or stone rampart along the top of the outer bank to add greater protection as well as allowing for animals to be kept within without roaming. Few of the ramparts remain as the timber would waste to the elements and the stone would have been 'robbed out' for other uses etc.

Fuinseog

airvan wrote: »

Going back to the one in Ballybane. I've been through it a few times walking the kids. Often wondered at it's odd configuration. So that's what it was, a ringfort. Never thought of that.

There are a lot of ringforts in this country. They are very visible from the air. I'm told most of them were no more interesting than cattle pens used to protect the livestock from the depredations of the wildlife and the rival tribes. The fairyfort curse thing protects them even to this day.

very few believe in the faerie these days. most people who enter a ringfort are able to get out of them again. most ringforts are very unassuming, though there are a few with defensive ditches that are impressive enough.

darrenh

bonzodog2 wrote: »

According to this page
link
it was 'partially filled with rubble' over thirty years ago

http://www.castlegar-county-galway.com/coopers-cave-castlegar-galway

The cave does still exist!