The Decco's Cave
Thugas cuaird ar Chill In�on L�in�n thar an deireadh seachtaine le Pluais Dhecco a ini�chadh f� choinne l�acht staire sa bhF�mhar. Deirtear go bhfuair an phluais an t-ainm seo � Iod�lach a bhi ina ch�na� ann tr�th.
Bealach isteach chuig mianach luaidhe abh� ann thart ar 1751. Chuirt� an luaidhe ar bord bh�irse ar an l�thair len � a easport�il go Sasana. N� r� fhada a mhair an mianach ag obair �fach.
[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 m� fh�in nach mbeadh an phluais ann a thuilleadh. Bh�nn f�in ag s�gradh ann agus m� �g agus bh� seomra ollmh�r ann, ar c�l phas�iste c�ng �seal, a bh� thar a bheith d�ins�arach.
Ach bh� an phluais f�s ann agus � l�n 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 th�os an p�s�iste c�ng �seal agus � f�s ar oscailt.
[This, below, is the low narrow passage and it is still open/accessable.]
L�as le d�ana� go raibh an phluais druidte ach t� m� ag ceapadh gurbh tagairt � seo don phr�omh bhealach isteach agus bh� s� seo druidte cheana f�in agus m� ag s�gradh ann ins na naoi d�ag caogaid�. T� an d� bhealach isteach le feice�l sa phicti�r th�os, an pas�iste ar cl� agus an pr�omhbhealach 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. ]
D�la an sc�il, l�as gurbh ionad d�dine � an phluais seo do Molloy abh� ina charachtar i sc�alta 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.]
[Uasd�t� 23/4/2016: Ach bh�os ag caint le d�ana� le saineola� ar shaothar Beckett agus dealra�onn s� nach bhfuil seo f�or agus gur d�ich� gur i bhfad n�os fuide � dheas abh� an phluais a luaitear sa sc�al 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 n�orbh � seo an pr�omh ionad luaidhe sa cheantar. Bh�odh mianach agus bruithneoir i mBaile Mhic Fheorais (Ballycorus) i l�r an nao� c�ad d�ag. Seans go n-aithneodh duine an siml�ar (thuas) a bhain leis an bhruithneoir seo ar shliabh Katty Gollagher, 900 troigh os cionn na farraige.
T� mion cur s�os 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)]
Bh�nn f�in ag s�gradh anseo leis agus seo (thuas) griangraf a th�gas � bharr an staighre agus m� ag breathn� anuas ar chara liom ar an dtalamh th�os.
F�ach an aguis�n chun an sc�al a chr�ochn�.
[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 d�ras sa ch�ad phost ar an �bhar seo, l�as le d�ana� go raibh an phluais druidte agus mheas m� gur bhain s� seo leis an bpr�omhbhealach isteach agus go raibh an pas�iste c�ng f�s oscailte. T� an d� bhealach isteach le feice�l sa phicti�r thuas, an pas�iste ar cl� agus an pr�omhbhealach druidte ar dheis.
N� raibh ach bealach amh�in fios a chur ar an sc�al. Isteach liom tr�n phas�iste. Nuair a bh�os ann leathch�ad bliain � shoin n� raibh m� in ann dul thar an bpointe th�os gan titim isteach i bpoll ollmhor. N�orbh ionam ach p�iste 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.]
[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, bh� �iteanna, mar an ceann th�os, abh� in ainm is a bheith d�nta don phobal, ach n� bheadh m�r�n iarrachta ag teast�il leis an constaic seo a sh�r�.
[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.]
P� sc�al � bh� fios f�tha an sc�il anois agam agus bh� s� in am teacht amach ar�s tr�n bpas�iste c�ng.
Anyway, I now had the full story and it was time to come back out through the narrow passage.]
[Daylight. Safely out.]
Chomh fada is a bhaineann s� le Cill In�on L�in�n f�in, t� macalla an mhianaigh f�s in ainm sr�ide "Glenalua" at� coitianta go maith thart ar an sr�idbhaile.
[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.]]