Viewing page 46 of 199

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

71. 

30th March - 2nd April 1945 (= Good Friday - Easter Monday)

After nearly a months fine rather a deep depression with violent gale (SW-W-NW) passed across on 31st March - 1st April, with heavy rain on afternoon & evening of latter.  Vegetation about 4 & 6 weeks ahead of some years.  Horse Chestnuts all in leaf & some with flowers:  one in Trinity Hall grounds, Darty Road, on 30th.  Also leaves on many Limes & at The Hermitage, Rathfarnham, several oaks well in leaf & one with catkins dangling on 1st April.  Even the Plane trees in Merrion Square in front of Nat. Hist. Museum almost green with unfurling leaves on 2nd-April (which on a fine day with 1 heavy shower) after rain on 1st.  Hawthorn with fat buds & hedges, &c., look like May rather than 1st April.

Native Mossy Saxifrages in both front & back garden all showing buds & a few in front in flower for some days.  Orchis mascula in flower (2 spikes this year!) in back garden on 2nd April;  also Carex sp. like rigida x goodenowii (beside rubbish-heap);   


72.

4th April 1945.

Left home at 8.5 AM. on bike & rode via Clondalkin, Hazlehatch, Celbridge to Clongowes Wood College where arrived at 10.30 exactly on whose lands a big discovery of Irish Giant Deer remains was recently made when ploughing (with a tractor) a supposed previously uncultivated (?) area of low flat land.  The exact spot is South of hill on which stand the ruins of Hamilton Rowan's house "Rathcoffey", 1 1/2 miles N. of Clongowes College.  Accompanied by the Rector (Fr. Dargan) & Fr. Aubrey Gwynne walked to the site which is in area just S. of former "decoy" for water - fowl.

Here the ploughman (Jim Noonan) is stated to have ploughed up at least "30 graves", according to his own words (fide Fr. Dargan!), but most of the bones & heads disturbed by the plough had been removed to local school (Rathcoffy) & were in charge of schoolmaster & his wife (Mr. & Mrs. Grealey) - a very intelligent pair!

After lunch on bog I went on to Mr. Grealey's & found Fr. Hurley waiting for me & later returned to bog with Mr. and Mrs. Grealey, children & Fr. Hurley, who knew where remainder