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Glen O Downs Heritage
Ancient Kingdom of Fera Cuala

Photo:Skycam

The incredible 3000 year old Hillforts of Downshill and Coolagad, the two brows of the Irish name for Glen of the Downs - Ghleann Dá Ghrua - sadly mentioned in the literature for the damage done to them by 'State-subsidised forestry' - site of incredible ancient stonework and breath-taking views of the landscape and the sea stretching as far as Northern Ireland  ...

On the East side of the Glen of the Downs equi-distant between the 2 Bronze-Age Hillforts is the 18th Century LaTouche estate of Bellevue Demesne, the gardens of which were famous in their time ....

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In 1022 King of Dublin Sitric Silkenbeard rode down from his vantage point on Coolagad Hillfort, to fight Uagaire King of Leinster, stationed on Downshill Hillfort, in the Battle of Delgany....

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The Glen of the Downs is the site of a 12000 year old Glacial Valley. both sides of its steep banks are covered in beautiful ancient sesille oak. The ancient Three Trouts Stream, its name harkening back to a time when trout were connected with the supernatural and thought to have mystical healing powers, runs through the Glen of the Downs and on through Delgany ...

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 GLEN O DOWNS HERITAGE - ANCIENT HISTORY TO MODERN DAY BIODIVERSITY

The Greater Glen of the Downs Area, Ancient Royal territory of Fera Cuala (Uí Briuin Cualann), is a very special place indeed significant for its natural, archaeological, aesthetic, and cultural heritage.

The area encompasses the 12,000 year old Glacial Valley in its dramatically beautiful setting at Glen of the Downs. The Valley, famed for its ancient Sessile Oak forest, is a Nature Reserve, hugely important for local biodiversity,  through which the Ancient Three Trout Stream runs giving life as it flows. Glen of the Downs is nestled between the two 3000 year old Bronze Age Hillforts of Coolagad and Downshill, once occupied by King of Dublin Sitric Silkenbeard and Uagaire King of Leinster who fought against each other in the Battle of Delgany 1022. Downshill, the ancient name of which is Dúin Caillighe Béirre - referencing the Ancient Irish Goddess of Nature Caileach Bearra. 

Calary at  the foot of the Great Sugar Loaf is the location of ringforts, an Ancient Royal Highway and a beautiful hill known as the Royal Meeting Place. The 18th Century LaTouche Estate at Bellevue Demesne lies equidistant between the hillforts - the Gardens once home to the largest glasshouses in Europe. The villages of Downshill and Delgany are steeped with history;  Coolagad stands sentry over the seaside town of Greystones, location of Kindlestown Castle, Killincarrig Castle and once site of Rathdown Castle.

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The-Whole-History-of-the-Tuatha-de-Danan

Kingdom of Cuala

c. Yasmin Fortune 2021

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