The oldest Anglo-Norman records in Ireland frequently refer to an extra mural district, east of Dublin, denominated “The Stein” or “Steine”, a flat piece of land extending southwards from the strand of the Liffey to “the lands of the Rath”, and eastward from near the city walls to the river Dodder.
If you mention the “Long Stone” most people in Dublin will immediately think of a pub.
The Long Stone on Townsend Street was established in 1754 and has been a favourite of Trinity College, Dublin students for generations. Unfortunately the pub which traded for 264 years ceased trading in December 2018 before being demolished as part of a major city centre development.
The Steine sculpture was erected in 1986 and was sculpted by Cliodhna Cussen. It was removed for a few years because of construction works associated with the new Luas cross-city tram service. The original installation included a granite inscribed plaque and a bronze plaque on a circular shaft set into granite setts arranged in eight circular bands around the principal granite shaft. When I photographed it immediately after the restoration bronze plate was missing but as you can see it is now there but the original setts have not been restored.
The stone is erected on a site near which stood a famous Long Stone or Steine / Steyne standing 12-14 feet high and erected by the Viking inhabitants of Dublin in the 10th or 11th centuries.
The River Liffey was much broader then and the stone actually stood close to the shoreline and perhaps marked a landing place.
The 3.35m high granite shaft is carved with two faces, one of which represents Ivor the first Viking King of Dublin who ruled in the 9th century. The other face is that of a nun and commemorates the convent of St. Mary Hogges, which stood nearby in the middle ages.
The Sigma DP1 Quattro does not work well in lowlight conditions and one can forget about going above ISO100 so the colours may appear a bit off or odd.
“Sraid Chnoc na Lobhar” is the Irish name for Townsend Street and if translated directly to English it is “Leper Hill Street”. When I was young I associated Leprosy with the Bible and never realised that it was common in Ireland.
According to accounts victims would assemble in the area of Townsend Street before embarking on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain in the hope of a cure.
Nearby was Lazar Hill which hosted pilgrims with leprosy who could not afford to stay in a hospice. According to some accounts it was a section of Townsend Street that was known as Lazar’s Hill or Lazy Hill. Lazar may be a reference to the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem which was established with the specific purpose of operating leper hospitals.
You must be logged in to post a comment.