BALLYFAD WOOD - STORY IN STONE

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There are things happening in the woods around Gorey, Co. Wexford.

Coillte employees and volunteers are maintaining walks. Schoolchildren are pinning fairy doors on tree trunks and creating models of their villages using painted stones.

So a walk in the woods is turning into a very interesting adventure indeed.

The latest innovation I have come across is a series of boulders in Ballyfad Wood which commemorate the history of the wood. A sort of alternative stations of the cross.

I have reproduced these below so that you too can make the journey and maybe some day turn up in person and admire this display.

So let's follow the trail from here.

We start with the Penal Laws, designed to put the native Irish in their place and keep them there. These laws were very oppressive and were only gradually relaxed over a long period.

An raibh tú ar an gCarraig ... I've never actually seen one but I was aware of the Mass Rock where the priest had to say mass in secret in some secluded spot while some of those in attendance kept a watchful eye for any approaching soldiers.

This stone commemorates those times and happens to be situated near a mass path which led to one such mass site.

This one commemorates the 1798 Rebellion of the United Irishmen, many of whom took refuge in the wood. Wexford is saturated with memorials to 1798, the Rebellion having been particularly active in this county.

An Gorta Mór. The great Irish famine which changed the face of the country forever. It also led to the demise of the Irish language and gave us the huge diaspora we have today.

Later in the nineteenth century came the Land War. The stone refers to evictions in the area and to the participation of the Royal Irish Constabulary (police) in these. This causes some unease to myself who had a number of family members in the force.

A stone listing some of the current biodiversity in the wood.

And finally a listing of the types of trees.

Full marks to all those involved in this great project and to those who keep these and other woods in good condition for the enjoyment of the general public.