Lidar of a snippet of the Cualann Kingdom
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.
Kingdom of Cuala
c. Yasmin Fortune 2021