Skeaghacroghery

Hawthorn bush depicted on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map as 'Skeaghacroghery' standing on a circular hill or a possible enclosure (OF016-022002-) which was used as a mass site during the penal times. The holy bush had been removed by 1908 as this edition of the OS 6-inch map depicts the monument as 'Skeaghacroghery (Site of). Known locally as the mass bush and according to local information it was the first bush in the area to get its leaves every year. Described in the ITA Survey as, 'a low knoll on undulating limestone plateau. The place is tilled and there is no sign of a fort (OF016-022002-) nor is the thing remembered. It was presumably a thorn bush' (ITA Survey 1942). Today there are no visible surface remains. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 28 December 2011

Linked to a tradition of clandestine Catholic worship during the penal era, the hawthorn bush at Skeaghacroghery served as a focal point for secret Masses. Local folklore may associate the site with Saint Kea, whose name is reflected in "Killiskea," though specific saintly connections or cures are not well documented.