The name Dartrey once referred to a tribe of people in this area. The Dartrey Forest is a walled estate now owned by Coillte Teoranta (the National Forestry Agency). It contains a wonderful collection of fine period oak trees, some of the largest in Ireland. The forest supports a rich bio-diversity of insects, moths, bats, buzzards, jays, herons,ravens, red squirrel, sitka & fallow deer.
The Dartrey estate,of over 1,000 acres, once known as Dawson's Grove, was established by the Dawson family in the 17th century. The Dawsons also gave their name to streets in Dublin and nearby Monaghan town.The river Dromore is the south boundary of the estate. It is bounded on its north and west side by five miles of the Cootehill-Rockcorry road (R188); For some of this distance the boundary consists of a ‘famine wall’ built in 1846.
The Church of St.John the Evangelist,Dartrey
The Dawson family who came to the area in the 17th century has been the main benefactor of the parish ever since. It was Richard Dawson, a banker and Dublin alderman, who in 1729 built the present (Church of Ireland) church on the Dartrey estate. It was established in its own separate parish of Ematris soon after.
The Dawsons added a north gallery to the church in 1769, and much later the Corry family (from Rockcorry) added a south gallery, raised on arches to avoid desecrating the burial ground beneath it. A fire caused serious damaged in 1811 leaving the church for a period without a roof. The fine west tower was built in 1840, and the sanctuary apse in 1870.
With the demolition of the Dawson mansion in 1950, and their once thriving estate turned over to forestry, St John’s appears isolated. However it shares services with St James’ church, Rockcorry some 2½ miles away, which the Dawsons built in 1855, and both churches continue well supported by the local farming community.
Most of the Dawson family are buried in the graveyard here - their crypt is just right of the path as you approach the church door.
The view from St John’s cemetery across Inner Lough, once described as “one of the best in Ireland”, is currently partially obscured by trees.
The cache
Stage 1:
At the above co-ords look around :
How many steps lead down to the gate? Call this : AB
What date did Eve die? Call this: C D EFGH
Stage 2
At this point you can see some relatively new plots - Two have the same surname. How many letters are in the name? Call this I
The cache can be found at:
N54 0C. (G-I) B A
W07 0D. F [(H*2)+1] (G+E)
Enjoy
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
.
Dartrey - Paradise Lost -The Bonus cache -GC2JCTD requires you to visit this cache site and make a note of the following - maybe you want to gather this information when you're here? -
At the above co-ords - look around at the graves, you won't have to go far:
There are 2 ranked officers buried near-by - taking the ranks as Britsh Army Ranks - what year was the lower ranked officer born? Answer = DEFG
What age was Sandy when he died? Answer = HI