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| The Devils Bit | ||||||||
| Templemore is nested under the shadow of the Devils Bit Mountain. The Devils bit is approx. 5 miles from Templemore in the area we know as Barnane. The name of the Mountain - The Devils Bit - has its roots in myth. It is stated that the Devil , on his "Rural Rambles" decided to take out his frustrations - probably on not capturing many souls from the area - on the mountain by taking a bite from it, hence its shape. He flew away from the area due south. After a while he got fed up of carrying the piece of rock so he dropped it. It landed in Cashel and its from this that the Rock of Cashel was created. |
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This makes for a good story and the locals like to recall this tale to our visitors. The fact of the matter is that the rock in the Devils Bit and the rock in the Rock of Cashel are of different sorts. It is reckoned by the experts that the ice age probably had more to do with this than the devil. |
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| Its a beautiful place to visit. From the top of the "Bit" you can see way down into Tipperary. To the rear of the mountain you can see up into North Tipperary and depending on visibility you can see the River Shannon. When I was younger many people observed rock Sunday - the first Sunday in June - when many people from the town climbed the Devils Bit. They usually had picnics or walked along the top of the mountain. |
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On the top of the mountain stands a 45 foot white Cross erected to celebrate the Marion year. In recent years a grotto with a statue to Our Lady was erected on the side of the mountain. As you travel along the roads from and to Templemore or if you travel from Nenagh to Roscrea at night you will see the faint glow of the illuminations of the Devils bit. When you do see this glow think of the story. |
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| On the 15th August each year, if the weather is clear, the sun is seen to set exactly in the Bit. That is the Feast of the Assumption and the cathedral in Thurles is the Cathedral of the Assumption. The 15th of August is also the date of Nenagh show and the meaning of "Nenagh" is "annual" or "annual fair". Taken from My Mystical Ireland Web site | ||||||||
