Stepping out along the pride of the Bride
WE set off from Bridebridge, a stone bridge of four arches crossing the River Bride, a lovely river with good trout and coarse fishing; facilities for disabled anglers are in place alongside. With these on our right, we head up the road toward Castlelyons; a pavement follows the right hand side. St Nicholas’ church is down a driveway to the right. In the cemetery, is a Celtic cross marking the grave of tAthair Peadar Ó Laoighre, parish priest of Castlelyons from 1890 until his death in 1920, with a headstone carved in fine Irish script. Widely known, he was prominent in the Gaelic League and a prolific writer and pamphleteer promoting the “Irish of the people”, especially the local dialect of ‘Cork Irish’, then still in common use, rather than a revival of the old forms. Amongst his works is an abridged translation of Cervantes’ Don Quixote into Irish.
After 400m we come to a junction, and turn right and then, immediately left, walking up Castlelyons village street to the ruins of a Franciscan Abbey on our right. Founded in 1307, the classic arched door and window in the facade are elegant and beautiful. A plaque in the street wall in front commemorates James B Maye, Esq., who “...took a leading part in many a hard fought battle for the restoration of the... liberties of our poor country... for which he suffered terms of imprisonment and innumerable torments in the county jails of Cork and Waterfor...” He died in 1899, aged 44.
