I became interested in the
Carrigallen Shoe from information I received from Thomas Lockhart
Jnr, so I wrote
to Raghnall O'Floinn, the assistant keeper of the Irish antiquities
division of the National Museum. He informed
me that the shoe came into the possession of the National Museum
in 1841, as part of the collection of Henry
Dawson, Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. According to records,
it was found in Carrigallen Bog, now
owned by Anne and Francie Murray, near the then Rectory, now the
residence of Joan and Robert Patterson,
Druminchin.
In Wilde's Catalogue
of the Antiquities of Animal Materials and Bronze in the Museum
of the Royal Academy
published in 1861, it is stated that the shoe was given to Dean
Dawson, who was Rector of Carrigallen from
November 4th 1809 until he died on September 6th 1866, aged 85.
He is buried in Christchurch Cathedral.
I am indebted to the
National Museum for the accompanying photograph. The shoe is on
permanent display in the
exhibition entitled Viking Age, Ireland, which opened in June
1995. It is one of the finest examples of its type.
The decoration on the shoe enabled it to be dated to the early
Christian period, perhaps the ninth or tenth century.
This article by Monsignor
John A. Young PP is from "Carrigallen Parish-A History."
"Carrigallen Parish-A
History."1996, Design inc.
© Ronan Ward Design
2003. All Rights Reserved.