Lough na Foohey View Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This Cache is located in the hills above the eastern end of Lough na Foohey.
The Cache has a location that looms large high up on the hillside over the eastern end of Lough na Foohey with spectacular views right up the valley over the lough and beyond (Weather permitting), The best approach is from the west and then follow the road along the northern bank of the Lough.
The Lough it self is a Glaciated valley that is fed from the surrounding mountains and hills leaving the valley at the eastern end where the water then flows on and into Lough Mask. At the Western end of the lough there is a large sandy beach.
When placed this cache contained:-
A Mobile Phone Deckchair (Perfect for the beach!)
10 balloons in assorted colours and sizes
A Hippo Hole Punch
Some assorted toys
€3.20 so the first finder can have a pint on Klaus!
and a 'Sylvester the cat' statue
as well as the usual Log book and pencil.
Please enjoy the cache, I hope all visitor have fine weather, as you can see from the photos on the day we placed the cache is was more than a little wet.
A little local history by Klaus23:
Lough naFoohey is a beautiful place, but it is also a location of sadness and stillness.
All around the lake you can see evidence of the effects of the Great Potato Famine, 1845-1850. On almost all the hillsides you will see cultivation ridges, also called “lazy beds”, used exclusively for growing the potatoes on which the entire population depended to such an extent, that when the crop failed in 1845, the results led to one million deaths and the emigration of two million more. All around the lake we counted 15-20 ruined houses that were abandoned during this time.
Just due north of the geocache there is a marked children’s famine mass grave. Here children were buried separately from adults during the famine. There are hundreds of these sites in Ireland. The place-name “Lisheen”, such as Lisheenkyle (Athenry) indicates the presence of a mass grave. The site is fenced off and marked by a marble plaque and a limestone Celtic cross. Although the site has a gate, I suggest not entering. This is a special place, and access is best left to those whose relatives lie there.
Also, in the neighbouring valley, an event that became known as the Maamtrasna Murders took place in 1882. The results of the murders were the death of a family, the hanging of an innocent man and the jailing of four innocent men. The outrage in Ireland at the miscarriage of justice by the British courts led to C.S. Parnell and the Irish Party fighting long and hard in the British House of Commons to have justice done. All attempts failed and ultimately Gladstone’s Government fell in England directly because of their refusal to reopen the Maamtrasna case and other issues.
You can refer to the following websites for more information:
(visit link)
(visit link)
Or purchase “Maamtrasna- The Murders and The Mystery” by Jarlath Waldron. The book is out of print, but you should find it in Charlie Byrnes bookshop, Middle Street, Galway. The book reveals what I will not, e.g. the exact location of the murder house.
Also, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT ask a local person in the valley for directions to the house or for their opinions on the events. You may well be speaking to a relative of the families involved.
What you can do is: Stop at the Cathedral in Galway, and walk to the end of the car park. There you will find a concrete slab with a large cross on it. Galway Gaol was located here, and under this slab the inmates who were executed or who died in the prison are buried. Stand here and reflect on the victims of miscarriages of justice, all over the world. It happens everywhere, every single day.
So there we were, an Irishman and an Englishman in the pouring rain, reflecting on history and the world. But we were looking forward to a pint, and as we are both Monty Python fans, we decided we were “pining for the fjords”, just like the ill-fated parrot, and we travelled on to Leenane, where we took in Killary Harbour, Irelands only fjord. And two pints of Stout.
Hope this essay is of some interest.
Klaus23
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Bar bs gur ynetr ebpxl bhgpebccvatf ba gur uvyyfvqr unf n ynetr penpx guebhtu gur zvqqyr, lbh ernyyl fubhyq vairfgvtngr guvf penpx.