Mass-rock in Gooseberryhill

McCarthy (1991, 86) recorded a mass rock in 'a glen called Gleann an Phobail (Glen Wobble), - the glen of the congregation - which separates the parishes of Newmarket and Meelin. Here Mass was said frequently in penal times, reputedly on a flat table cut out of the rock. The writer found a rock covered with grass, furze, etc. a distance of two long fields from the road, when he visited this quiet secluded a place in May 1988'. Site not inspected. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

This mass-rock in Gooseberryhill was used for the secret celebration of Catholic Mass during the Penal Times, when Catholic worship was outlawed in Ireland. The nearby glen, Gleann an Phobail, or "Glen of the Congregation," reflects the site’s historical role as a place of religious assembly and resistance.