Underground Ireland

polevault

Static M.e. wrote: »

These could be just rumours but here you go.

Garbally College in Ballinasloe is suppose to have tunnels leading from the main building out in the grounds somewhere this was for the priests has an excape route.

hi ,

This is true alright, when i was a student there we found the entrance, it is located in the sacrestry of the church under the old piano, we managed to make our way out into the garden, although there is another entrance in the garden it is blocked up shortly past that. They say it was a tunnel to the church in the town but if you go down the field to where the tunnel is pointing it emerges about 300 metres from the house itself, very hard to spot but we had alot of time on our hands to find it. After some digging we got into it from the other side, could be two explanations!, the first it directed sewege to an open lagoon down the field, second it was a genuine tunnel for escape and never completed. Its really cool though. Also names of students dating back to 1910 are on the walls to the right of the entrance in the church. Whatever about us getting caught down them , if they were caught messing down tunnels back in them days they would have been slaughtered from what i hear about that place!.

shoelaceface

dig your own hole and see what you come up with!! you might find something new..... :O :O :O :O

Bebra

My Great-Uncle used to own a shop in Queen Street. The cellar had three 'tunnels'. One led to an opening in the backyard, and another passage joined to other cellars along the street. I think the third led across the street, but it was always blocked. We were always told it was blocked because it was haunted by black-and-tans.

the_syco

The Old Iron Bridge is one to look into. Not the bridge itself, but where it went, on the north side. Pretty sure it once had railway tracks on it a long time ago. On the north side, I think it goes into the hill. No idea where it goes from there, though.

GabiP

I saw a programme on the History Channel & a guy does just what you are talking about, touring tunnels beneath Dublin, there are tonnes, well habited by rats but yes there's a lot of hidden places. One was in St. James Hospital, as they were building the underground carpark and new wing they came accross this place it has been preserved and is accessible through the normal hospital corridor. The programme showed Dublin as it was digitally when the vikings came and how Dubh Linn was built, pretty interesting. You'd have to get permission I assume. I think it's a bit of a shrine to abandoned children - orphans or something. Also, there is an "Esker" in Esker in Lucan Co. Dublin I believe there are tunnels under that.There's a 300 year old church in Palmerstown in an area called Mill Lane - I believe there is an undergound beneath the ruins of the church but again you'd have to get permission from God only knows who. Church on South Annes Street has another church beneath it. Some where on Abbey Street also proved an archaeological find but cant remember what. Are you filming all this so we can see?

Victor

the_syco wrote: »

The Old Iron Bridge is one to look into. Not the bridge itself, but where it went, on the north side. Pretty sure it once had railway tracks on it a long time ago. On the north side, I think it goes into the hill. No idea where it goes from there, though.

It was a pedestrian bridge for workers to get from Palmerstown village to Farmleigh.

Dord

GabiP wrote: »

I saw a programme on the History Channel & a guy does just what you are talking about, touring tunnels beneath Dublin, there are tonnes, well habited by rats but yes there's a lot of hidden places. One was in St. James Hospital, as they were building the underground carpark and new wing they came accross this place it has been preserved and is accessible through the normal hospital corridor. The programme showed Dublin as it was digitally when the vikings came and how Dubh Linn was built, pretty interesting. You'd have to get permission I assume. I think it's a bit of a shrine to abandoned children - orphans or something. Also, there is an "Esker" in Esker in Lucan Co. Dublin I believe there are tunnels under that.There's a 300 year old church in Palmerstown in an area called Mill Lane - I believe there is an undergound beneath the ruins of the church but again you'd have to get permission from God only knows who. Church on South Annes Street has another church beneath it. Some where on Abbey Street also proved an archaeological find but cant remember what. Are you filming all this so we can see?

This episode was discussed several pages back. I managed to see the show. Very interesting!

GabiP

Yes that is totally blocked off now and the flooring is all gone, it is visible from the Strawberry Beds and used to be accessible from Mill Lane in Palmerstown, a now park area behind Stewarts Hospital. We used to play on this Bridge as kids or as bowl teens, people often jumped off it, a friend of mine did and landed on the road at Strawberry Beds! She was ok but limped home all the way through Chapelizod! I was under the impression it led originally into Guiness' grounds, horses used to alledgedly tow wagons of stuff through. I'm not sure though. Hugh O'Connor of Mill Lane is the local Historian and could tell you everything. Once a neighbour of mine went into the grounds beyond the bridge, local lads used to go in for the "dare" or to steal bunches of daffodils, he got shot in the ass by a pellet gun, it was the talk of the town at the time, so funny. The area has a massiveand ancient history, well worth looking into.

Hanley

I've heard stories of a tunnel system under All Hallows College in Drumcondra?? Anyone know anything about it?

Run_to_da_hills

The drinking culture is being driven underground in Ireland.

Quazzie

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The drinking culture is being driven underground in Ireland.

NEWS ALERT! Run to da hills has another paranoid theory

Lirange

Have you visited the excavation areas of the Viking jacks at Wood Quay/Temple Bar?

Johnny Utah

Great thread.


There's an underground tunnel from the four courts to the bridewell garda station. There's even some underground prison cells under some of the courts.

copeyhagen

i have read all 15 pages over the last few days, very interesting read.

theres an abbey in donaghmede called grange abbey, we used to hang around in/on it as kids, theres 2 really old grave stones inside, its almost impossible to read the engravings but i think one dates back to the 13th century and has a pirate skull and bones engraved into it (or it used to).

last time i was in there (couple years ago) one of the large slabs on the floor was starting to raise up and there was a definate gap/hole underneath.

wonder if it leads to anything.

i used to have a really old book from when they were excavating the abbey before the houses were built in the 70s and it had photos and stuff.

lost it a long time ago

anyone know the history of the abbey? cant really find anything online

Degsy

copeyhagen wrote: »

i have read all 15 pages over the last few days, very interesting read.

theres an abbey in donaghmede called grange abbey, we used to hang around in/on it as kids, theres 2 really old grave stones inside, its almost impossible to read the engravings but i think one dates back to the 13th century and has a pirate skull and bones engraved into it (or it used to).

last time i was in there (couple years ago) one of the large slabs on the floor was starting to raise up and there was a definate gap/hole underneath.

wonder if it leads to anything.

i used to have a really old book from when they were excavating the abbey before the houses were built in the 70s and it had photos and stuff.

lost it a long time ago

anyone know the history of the abbey? cant really find anything online

The abbey has been excavated a few times,as afar as i know the first time was by Leo Swan in circa 1971.The abbey had numerous burials both in teh grounds and under the structure itself.The stone slab you're describing is probably a burial.There was the body of a newborn baby found under the stone at the main entrance.
I'll get the book and post the details tommorow.
however,when the m50 was due to go through the site it was excavated again.
In the grounds were discovered the remains of ancient fish ponds that had been used by the abbey.
Many of them were filled in with rubble from an old house that was in the area.
In ones such pond they discovered a hoard or 40 gold soveriegns dating from georgian times and in almost perfect condition.Any kids who used to play there(myslef included),missed finding an actual buried treasure!

edit
found some links
http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details.php?Year=&County=Derry&id=3658

http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details.php?Year=&County=Dublin&id=158

copeyhagen

cheers degsy thats great, been interested in the place for years (its the back of my house) and never heard of any of the more modern excavations.

used to play ball there 24/7 back in the day, before the road was built there obviously.

crescent versus drive football matches!!

cheers man

recurfizz

last_orders wrote: »

theres an underground stream going from terenure college lake that goes to bushy park joining up with the waterfall, dunno how accessible it is though. on either end it looks walkable like a sewer but its fairly long so in the middle it might be a natural tunnel.

That's right, I walked thru this when I was about 14 years old. My recollection is of a concrete, square shaped tunnel, with no natural features. It was reasonably straight, and very low. We had to stoop down walking through it.

The only features of note were some ladders leading up to man holes, which we used as points to take a rest. We weren't able to open them from the inside, so it's hard to know exactly where they were located.

If anyone has any more info on it, like when it was built, or the name of the river which supplies the lake, please let us know.

Nehaxak

Isn't there some secret escape tunnel that runs under Leinster house ?
If I remember rightly, Mary Harney at one stage commented on it's usage to the effect of "in case the people rebel en-masse against the government".

There's also a tunnel that runs down Camden Street. Haven't a clue where it starts and ends nor the reasons behind it exactly but can be accessed from beneath most buildings on the street. Far as I'm aware it was also extended at some point to run under the canal up toward Rathmines.

I remember as a kid there was also a cave at whiterock on Killiney beach that apparently at one stage anyway (so the stories went at the time) linked up from that cave at whiterock, all the way up to to either the Martello Tower in Dalkey or the lower of the two Witches Hats. I do remember at least running the tunnel a coupe of times as a kid between the small and large witches hats on Killiney hill - until the council blocked them off for safety reasons.

guinnessdrinker

Apparently there is an underground tunnell that goes under the road connecting the courthouse and police station in Sligo.

Also, there was old plans discovered not that long ago detailing a tunnell that was to be build under O' Connell street in Dublin running the lenght of the street. The plans were from around 1900ish I think.

rstans

I've heard stories over the years about a tunnel here in Limerick that leads off Kings Island possibly to one of the nearby churches. Anybody know anything about this?
Also most of the older buildings in Limerick city have small tunnels that go out under the roads and end in a brick wall. I've always wondered if anything's beyond the wall, nobody has ever let me knock a few bricks out to have a look.

Victor

rstans wrote: »

I've heard stories over the years about a tunnel here in Limerick that leads off Kings Island possibly to one of the nearby churches. Anybody know anything about this?
Also most of the older buildings in Limerick city have small tunnels that go out under the roads and end in a brick wall. I've always wondered if anything's beyond the wall, nobody has ever let me knock a few bricks out to have a look.

These are likely to just be arches under the footpath / road. On the other side of the wall you will either find another arch or just soil.

They were often used for coal storage and in parts of Dublin you can still see the coal holes.

Darragh29

starn wrote: »

Hi,
I'am in the process of writting a piece on hidden Ireland. So far I've visited the CIE tunnell under the Pheonix Park and spent a charming day wondering Dublins sewers. But thats been pretty much it. So Im looking for help uncovering some more hidden gems. I've spent some time in the catacombs underneath both Paris and Rome. While obiously not expecting to find anything like that underneath Dublin. I some there must be more beneath it then just a train tunnell

Not too far from where you were in the Pheonix Park, there is a hospital called St. Mary's Hospital, just a few minutes walk from the Chapelizod gate entrance to the park. My Dad recently found an old tunnel underneath the hospital that connects it to the abandoned Army Magazine across the park. I haven't got a chance to to up yet to see it, I'll have to get him to show me where it is but if this is what you are looking for, let me know and I'll light a fire under it...

vektarman

bringitdown wrote: »

Isn't there a tunnel in the Guiness Brewery at St James Gate?

More than one, there's quite a few of them, including narrow gauge railway tunnels.

Darragh29

the_syco wrote: »

The Old Iron Bridge is one to look into. Not the bridge itself, but where it went, on the north side. Pretty sure it once had railway tracks on it a long time ago. On the north side, I think it goes into the hill. No idea where it goes from there, though.

This is the Silver Bridge in Palmerstown. It was used to allow Guinesss workers who lived in Mill Lane in Palmerstown to get to work in Farmleigh in Phoenix Park...

conman

Steak wrote: »

I don't know if this is what you're talking about but if you go downstairs in Burger King on Grafton Street (the one near Boots), you can see that it extends a good bit out underneath the street! I'm sure you can notice this in other shops/restaurants on Grafton Street too!


in what way is it dangerous?


apparently there are tunnels stretching from St.Patrick's College in Cavan into the town to beneath the Courthouse! I'm not sure how true this is though!

there are a lot of tunnels in cavan, one comes out at the kennypottle river, i think its beside the esb buildings right at the bridge at farnham st. lots of those were flooded and too dangerous to enter, that and the juniour chamber of commerce wreckin the town back in the 60-70's, taking out the fransiscan abbey etc.. all that is left is the abbey tower...

merrionsq

polevault wrote: »

Static M.e. wrote: »

These could be just rumours but here you go.

Garbally College in Ballinasloe is suppose to have tunnels leading from the main building out in the grounds somewhere this was for the priests has an excape route.

hi ,
This is true alright, when i was a student there we found the entrance, it is located in the sacrestry of the church under the old piano, we managed to make our way out into the garden, although there is another entrance in the garden it is blocked up shortly past that. They say it was a tunnel to the church in the town but if you go down the field to where the tunnel is pointing it emerges about 300 metres from the house itself, very hard to spot but we had alot of time on our hands to find it. After some digging we got into it from the other side, could be two explanations!, the first it directed sewege to an open lagoon down the field, second it was a genuine tunnel for escape and never completed. Its really cool though. Also names of students dating back to 1910 are on the walls to the right of the entrance in the church. Whatever about us getting caught down them , if they were caught messing down tunnels back in them days they would have been slaughtered from what i hear about that place!.

Some bizarre thoughts pouring out in this thread. If half of all the Dublin tunnels actual existed, they end up criss-crossing each other.

Garbally College moved to its present site in 1923. So I don't think the priests would construct escape tunnels. (Unless it was to do with some of the clergy's more recent scandals;)). I'd imagine any tunnels were constructed by the Earls of Clancarthy. Guys like Clan Carthy were known for their follies. But I'd think a simpler explanantion for any tunnels was for servants to move around unseen. I understand there's an old Ice House there also, which by its nature would be underground, or cave-like.

phoenix2181

on a side note at the Bank of Ireland Computer centre in Cabinteely has 2 large bunkers 30-40ft down, the larger of the bunkers extends out to the Duel carraige way, these bunkers are or could be converted to being nuclear bunkers as even the doors are approx 1 & 1/2 feet think steel, these were build back in the 70's to contain the v large computers of the time, these days all the servers are contained in just one small part of the room.
The larger bunker would easily accomadate a decent game of 5 a side footie with space to spare!

phoenix2181

please excuse my spelling above, was typing on a Eee Pc & the keys are on the small side

Capt'n Midnight

Darragh29 wrote: »

This is the Silver Bridge in Palmerstown. It was used to allow Guinesss workers who lived in Mill Lane in Palmerstown to get to work in Farmleigh in Phoenix Park...

I always thought it was for the other direction, for workers on the strawberry beds to get to the Mill on Mill Lane.

was never a railway, unless there is a secret tunnel into the hill

Darragh29

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I always thought it was for the other direction, for workers on the strawberry beds to get to the Mill on Mill Lane.

was never a railway, unless there is a secret tunnel into the hill

You could be right there. There was a rumour going around Palmerstown only a few years ago that a ghostly apparition was seen several times at the Mill Lane side of the bridge, where it is blocked off by steel shuttering. A young lad committed suicide there some years back by hanging himself from the bridge and an association was made between this event and the arrival of this recent apparition. The story grew legs after one of the people who claimed to have seen this apparition at the bridge died suddenly, fuelling the idea that the ghost was some sort of bad omen, if you saw it, you would die soon after... Interestingly this bridge is in the same field in Mill Lane which was the scene of two violent murders in recent times...

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0927/palmerstown.html

http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0529/6news.html