The Decco's Cave


Thugas cuaird ar Chill Iníon Léinín thar an deireadh seachtaine le Pluais Dhecco a iniúchadh fá choinne léacht staire sa bhFómhar. Deirtear go bhfuair an phluais an t-ainm seo ó Iodálach a bhi ina chónaí ann tráth.

Bealach isteach chuig mianach luaidhe abhí ann thart ar 1751. Chuirtí an luaidhe ar bord bháirse ar an láthair len í a easportáil go Sasana. Ní ró fhada a mhair an mianach ag obair áfach.

[I paid a visit to Killiney over the weekend to suss out the Decco's Cave for a lecture in the Autumn. They say the cave is named after an Italian who once lived in it.

It was an entrance to a lead mine around 1751. The lead was loaded on board a barge on the spot to be exported to England. The mine did not last long in operation, however.]


Mheas mé fhéin nach mbeadh an phluais ann a thuilleadh. Bhínn féin ag súgradh ann agus mé óg agus bhí seomra ollmhór ann, ar cúl phasáiste cúng íseal, a bhí thar a bheith dáinséarach.

Ach bhí an phluais fós ann agus í lán oscailte.

[I didn't really expect the cave to be there anymore. I used to play in it when I was young, and there was a great big room, at the end of a low narrow passage, which was very dangerous.

But the cave turned out to be still there and completely open to access.]


Seo thíos an pásáiste cúng íseal agus é fós ar oscailt.

[This, below, is the low narrow passage and it is still open/accessable.]


Léas le déanaí go raibh an phluais druidte ach tá mé ag ceapadh gurbh tagairt é seo don phríomh bhealach isteach agus bhí sé seo druidte cheana féin agus mé ag súgradh ann ins na naoi déag caogaidí. Tá an dá bhealach isteach le feiceál sa phictiúr thíos, an pasáiste ar clé agus an príomhbhealach druidte ar dheis.

[I had read recently that the cave had been blocked off, but I think this must have been a reference to the main entrance, and this had already been blocked up when I used to play there in the 1950s. The two entrances are to be seen in the picture below, the passage on the left, and the blocked up main entrance on the right. ]



Dála an scéil, léas gurbh ionad dídine í an phluais seo do Molloy abhí ina charachtar i scéalta Samuel Beckett.

[ By the way, I read that the cave was a place of refuge for Molloy who was a character in Samuel Beckett's stories.]

[Uasdátú 23/4/2016: Ach bhíos ag caint le déanaí le saineolaí ar shaothar Beckett agus dealraíonn sé nach bhfuil seo fíor agus gur dóichí gur i bhfad níos fuide ó dheas abhí an phluais a luaitear sa scéal san.]

[Update 23/4/2016: But I was recently speaking to an expert on Beckett's work and it appears this is not true and that the cave referred to in the story is most likely much further south.]





Ach níorbh é seo an príomh ionad luaidhe sa cheantar. Bhíodh mianach agus bruithneoir i mBaile Mhic Fheorais (Ballycorus) i lár an naoú céad déag. Seans go n-aithneodh duine an simléar (thuas) a bhain leis an bhruithneoir seo ar shliabh Katty Gollagher, 900 troigh os cionn na farraige.

Tá mion cur síos ar an mhianach agus ar an bhruithneoir seo ag Sir Robert Kane ina leabhar The Industrial Resources of Ireland (1845).

[But this was not the main location in the area for lead. In the middle of the nineteenth century, there was a lead mine and smelter in Ballycorus. You might recognise the chimney (above) on Katty Gollagher hill, 900 feet above sea level, which belonged to this smelter.

Sir Robert Kane has a detailed account of the mine and the smelter in his book The Industrial Resources of Ireland (1845)]


Bhínn féin ag súgradh anseo leis agus seo (thuas) griangraf a thógas ó bharr an staighre agus mé ag breathnú anuas ar chara liom ar an dtalamh thíos.

Féach an aguisín chun an scéal a chríochnú.

[I used to play here too and the above photo is one I took from the top of the steps looking down on a friend of mine on the ground below.

See the appendix for the remainder of the story]


Decco - Appendix


Mar a dúras sa chéad phost ar an ábhar seo, léas le déanaí go raibh an phluais druidte agus mheas mé gur bhain sé seo leis an bpríomhbhealach isteach agus go raibh an pasáiste cúng fós oscailte. Tá an dá bhealach isteach le feiceál sa phictiúr thuas, an pasáiste ar clé agus an príomhbhealach druidte ar dheis.

Ní raibh ach bealach amháin fios a chur ar an scéal. Isteach liom trín phasáiste. Nuair a bhíos ann leathchéad bliain ó shoin ní raibh mé in ann dul thar an bpointe thíos gan titim isteach i bpoll ollmhor. Níorbh ionam ach páiste ag an am.

[As I said in my first post on this subject, I had read recently that the cave had been blocked up and I thought that this referred to the main entrance and that the narrow passage was still open. Both entrances are to be seen in the above photo, the passsage on the left and the blocked up main entrance on the right.

There was only one way to find out. In I go through the passage. When I was there some fifty years ago I was not able to go beyond the point below without falling into a great big hole. I was only a child at the time.]

Ach bhí an scéal réitithe ó shoin ag an lucht taiscéalaithe pluaise. Bhí coinnle, rópaí agus droichead beag fiú. Ní raibh a leithéid ann leathchéad bliain ó shoin.

[But this problem had since been solved by potholers. There were candles, ropes and even a small bridge. Nothing like this had been there fifty years ago.]



Cinnte, bhí áiteanna, mar an ceann thíos, abhí in ainm is a bheith dúnta don phobal, ach ní bheadh mórán iarrachta ag teastáil leis an constaic seo a shárú.

[Certainly there were places, like the one below, which were supposted to be shut off to the public, but it wouldn't take much of an effort to overcome that obstacle.]



Pé scéal é bhí fios fátha an scéil anois agam agus bhí sé in am teacht amach arís trín bpasáiste cúng.

Anyway, I now had the full story and it was time to come back out through the narrow passage.]

Solas an lae. Slán amach.

[Daylight. Safely out.]



Chomh fada is a bhaineann sé le Cill Iníon Léinín féin, tá macalla an mhianaigh fós in ainm sráide "Glenalua" atá coitianta go maith thart ar an sráidbhaile.

[As far as Killiney itself is concerned, there is still an echo of the mine in the name "Glenalua" (The Lead Glen) which is common enough around the village.]



[[ Just a word of WARNING to anyone thinking of going into the cave, assuming it is still open. Don't go alone and make sure someone on the outside knows where you have gone. This is good potholing as well as mountaineering practice. If you have a problem inside and can't get out, it could be a long time before anyone comes across your skeleton, if ever. Also remember, MOBILE PHONES do not work inside the cave. Remember also to bring some rough outer clothing. You'll ruin your good suit crawling in on your belly. Your old painting clothes would be ideal.]]