Taken from the publication ‘Kilanerin’, published c1987
The following extracts are taken from a paper read by G. H. Kinahan to the Royal Irish Academy on April 4 th 1882:
“Mullawn is situtated near the Church and well of Kilninor (which is near Kilanerin) in the county of Wexford to the south of Croghan Kinsella.
Here some years ago three men, while removing a ditch came on a kistvaen and left it, intending to open it at midnight but when they returned at midnight the howling of the wind in the trees frightened them away. Afterwards when it was opened an urn with ashes was found. The common believe in all this county is that if the urn is opened at the proper moment, which is generally considered to be midnight, it will contain gold; but if at any other time the gold will melt into ashes, when this is supposed to have happened the urn is nearly always smashed. Some recommend before you seen the urn, you should partial raise the top stone and with your hand slip into the urn half a sovereign, as gold makes gold grow, if you find a treasure you must kill a cat, as otherwise it will bring you ill luck.
As in this case so, also in many others in the area, the kistvaens have of late years been found nearly always while levelling old ditches. In explanation of this I would suggest the following:
When the land was first fenced into fields, any kistvaens that might be on the line a fence would not be disturbed and would remain until the ditch was taken away, while others would be discovered and destroyed during the subsequent tillage of the land. This idea is corrobrated by the finding in the ditches or houses in the vicinity of place where kistaens are discovered, flags similar to those used in the construction of the kistvaens. Pallas Moat is situated near the south-west of the Parish of Kilninor. It is large enough to have been a Royal residence; but as it is close to the mearing of Tomathone, which may have been named from it, it maybe a tuain. It has been dug into several times for treasure but as far as I can learn nothing has been found in it. White Heaps in the townland of Glenogue, a little north of the Parish of Kilninor, and immediately adjoining the mearing of the Co. Wicklow, there were formally several heaps of quartz blocks. From the description given of them, they seem to have been ‘laghtas’ or small carns, but some years ago they were carted away to be crushed by the gold company’s. The country people report that the company got no gold out of them while the good people ruined the company by taking the heaps away. The space on which the heaps were situated is untilled and is left for the fairies. The name ‘White Heaps’ has survived to this day in the townland of Glenogue. People travelling on the road from Ballyfad via Glenogue to Woodenbridge still refer to the journey as crossing the ‘White Heaps’, a trip which gives a wonderful panoramic view of north Wexford and north Wicklow.”
A similar Urn was found in Annagh in 1947, dating from the early Bronze Age c.2000 BC.
