Wexford Excursion
For details of the various sites we visted, please click on the links to the left . . . in the meantime . . .10,11,12,13 June, Summer Excursion
Wexford
A lighthearted visual record of the Antiquaries' visits to the following sites: Glendalough, Ferns Castle, Medieval Wexford, New Ross, St Mullins, Hook Head Lighthouse, Tintern Abbey, Clonmore church site and Clonmore Castle.
The first stop on the Antiquaries' trip was Glendalough, where Con Manning explained the complex building history of the cathedral.
Ferns was the next stop, where the castle is of a similar type to Carlow castle, with two surviving round corner towers. One of these contains a unique chapel, with stunning vaulting. Con Manning points out the beautifully carved heads which terminates the ribs of the vaulting.
Ben Murtagh led the Antiquaries around the remains of the town wall of Wexford.
Mary Kelly comes downstairs rather gingerly, in the tower of the Augustinian Priory, Wexford, where our walking trip ended with exploration of the church and graveyard.
Lauren Corlett seems unconvinced by Con's explanations of the historical background to the gate at New Ross. 
The Antiquaries take a welcome rest in the shade of the arcades, in the south transept of St Mary's, New Ross. 
Próinséas explains how mad Suibhne finally came down from the tree tops after talking with St Moling, at St Mullins, Co. Carlow. Con Manning read us a poem commemorating another trip to St Mullins by the Antiquaries just over 100 years ago:
The Antiquaries visit to Graignamanagh
On the last day of May in the
Year Nineteen four,
The Royal Antiquarians
Some forty or more,
Came down from Kilkenny,
New Ross and Inistaigue,
To contemplate the Abbey
And the old town of Graig.
ChorusTallyho, hark-away, Tallyho, hark-away,
Tallyho, hark-away my boys, away, hark-away.
’Tis then that P. O’Leary, who showed them all the place,
Described the old crusader with his sword and battered face,
And showed them where the ancient tiles were hidden in the clay,
If the people only let him, sure he’d clear it all away.
Chorus
Then they sailed adown the Barrow in the shade of Brandon Hill,
And soon they reached the lovely spot where Moling had his mill,
And while they went to see the Church, the ancient well and spout,
The Boatman and the Poet went to where they sell the stout.
Chorus
Here’s a health to Father Mooney, who kindly lent his aid.
And a health to Mr. ’Leary who’d digging Carrigleade,
Here’s a health to Canon Burnett for the creditable way,
He gave the whole Society their dinner and their tay.
Chorus
From Selection from the Poems of William O’Leary, Graig-na-managh, 1926. The editor adds: ‘We fear the poet must have taken too many stouts, otherwise he would not have written those lines to the fine old air of “Tallyho”.
The rest of the Antiquaries bask in the sunshine at St Mullins.
Ben Murtagh explains the history of Hook Lighthouse, which is the oldest surviving lighthouse in continuous use in Ireland. 
Our President, Aideen Ireland, enjoys a chat with our lecturer, Billy Colfer, at dinner before his lecture on the Anglo-Norman fortifications of Medieval County Wexford. 
Chris Corlett, Hon. Gen. Secretary points out the lamentable condition of many of the crosses in the old graveyard at Clonmore, Co. Carlow. 
Our President is confronted by some woolly locals on the way to Clonmore castle from the graveyard.
David Newman Johnson reminisced about his survey of Clonmore castle in the 1970s, when, he claims, it was visible and didn't have quite the flourishing plantlife which is now unfortunately obscuring the architectural details. In particular, he remembered an episode in which he himself featured as 'the Clonmore ghost' - scaring the wits out of a local man one night, when he emerged from the crypt, where his surveying had been conducted with the aid of two ingeniously placed lightbulbs attached onto the tops of his spectacles. Coming up from the crypt after dark he noticed a man sitting on the gate - at the same moment the man saw a creature with glowing eyes emerging from the ground . . . his footsteps echoing down the road were the last David saw or heard of him!
On our way to the last site at Baltinglass, we meet again!