Three Easters In Ireland

By P. N. Bartlett

It is more than a year ago now that I was asked to write on the cave exploration in County Clare in Western Ireland. Our party has been visiting this area for three successive springs, spending about a week each time exploring the caves and pots, with which these parts are only too liberally supplied. It. is our habit to take the night boat from Liverpool to Dublin and from there to continue our journey overland in hired cars, which cost about five pounds a week. Motoring is essential to our purpose, as we have considerable distances to traverse . and our time is limited, owing to the unfortunate necessity of earning our livelihood.

In the main the roads are good and improving and motoring is comparatively free from the obstruction of other vehicles, though natural impedimenta such as pigs, donkeys, and fowl of various species form hazards which give zip to the mechanical process of driving. Donkeys represent an alternative form of transport and appear to cost about twenty-five shillings each. Our cars suffered from a variety of minor ailments but their general constitution was hearty ; they required every con­sideration and were inclined to be fretful if not assuaged by the mystic rites of frequent oiling and sedulous tinkering. Horns worked intermittently, the steering was seemingly fore­ordained and there was a tendency to shortage of breath in the tyres, accompanied by a galloping consumption of water. On the whole they were willing and reliable beasts of burden and more suited to the hurly-burly of Clare side-roads than their smarter counterparts in England.

Our explorations were inspired in the first place entirely by Dr. E. A. Baker’s book, Caving, known to us as the Caveman’s Bible. On the whole we did not tend to give to cave exploration the status of a serious science, though we were prepared to admit that it might add much to the sum total of human misery. The spirit of exact scientific enquiry is foreign to the mystic Irish soil and,is only relentlessly to be pursued in that country for purely hedonistic and personal motives, It was then for this reason that we stayed at Lynch’s Hotel in Lisdoonvarna and when once they had accustomed themselves to our oddities, they gave us every assistance and comfort, which our angry but servile bodies demanded after five or six hours underground. They came to regard us with tolerant affection, that affection we have for incom­prehensible things with which we have grown familiar. April is an off season at Lisdoonvarna and therefore cheap, though this strange and somewhat melancholy resort is crowded in summer.

The weather has been usually fine and dry, fairly warm with occasional bitter East winds, a season of primroses, which are surprisingly large and which produce all the pleasant sensations and associations they should. They grow well amid black and acrid peat soil. The landscape is dry and barren, astringent like the country above Austwick and Sulber Nick—a Celtic country of peasants. Its attraction is not- obvious and is an acquired taste, like olives or porter. The coast hereabouts is magnificent, an endless show of colour, in haze or when clear and rain-washed, with views across Galway Bay to the odd-shaped hills of Connemara, not to be called to memory without pain and pleasure and a sentimental realisation of the brevity of our pleasure in it.

Our explorations have centred round Slieve Elva, the fairy hill, which may be likened to an island of impervious rock, in the midst of the grey sea of limestone. It is composed of Yoredales and rises about 1,800 feet above sea level and from its top many streams flow down on to the limestone and there sink, forming caves all round the base of the mountain. The limestone has a general tendency to dip towards the south.

The great cave of Poulnagollum is situated on the East side of Slieve Elva, near the prehistoric Caherbullog. A rope and a twenty-foot ladder are needed to get down, though there is an alternative entrance in the N.E. corner by Gunman’s Cave, over a roof traverse and down a drop of ten feet into the main passage. The latter entrance needs no . tackle beyond a handline down the pot.

Poulnagollum is a long, high cavern with lofty and impressive rock formations, probably the finest stream passage in the British Isles. Towards the end, it flattens out into a bedding plane, and in 1936 we seemed to have gone as far as it is possible to go, well beyond the initials E.A.B. About 1,200 yards down the cave a large stream comes in from a branch passage on the left. This branch we followed up to the waterfall, which blocks the passage in normal weather ; 1936 was exceptionally dry. We went through the waterfall, turned left to a block of fallen stalactite and mud, over this and down a 15-foot pitch into a great high rift, with a floor so muddy that we did not explore beyond. By muddy one means up to the thighs in very sticky mud.

During this exploration, two of the party had explored the cave which comes in at the N.W. corner of the pot, and they made a through route of about 700 yards, coming out behind Cosgrave’s Farm. This fine new cave is known as Upper Poulnagollum or Pollbinn—the pleasant cave. There are many other caves about here, all part of the Poulnagollum system.

At Easter 1935 a large pot was found three-quarters of a mile below Poulnagollum—100 yards east of the road to Lisdoonvarna. We identified it with Poulnaelva of the map, which we hoped meant the fairy pot. It is an impressive place, and on two sides the moss- and lichen-covered walls drop a sheer hundred feet. From the grass slope on the south side it is one pitch of 75 feet to the bottom, where the stream flows east and the general tendency is in that direction. We found it blocked down stream and could not get through, though I still think it would be possible with very little digging. It would be worth while trying, as we heard a big stream beyond. It is possible however to get into the stream passage here, above the big waterfall which drops down into the pot in the N.W. corner. This leads into a stream cave, which comes out in a swallet about 600 yards to the North of Poulnaelva and on the West of the road. It is a good passage—rather wet with good stalactitic formation. It is known as Upper Poulnaelva or Poll Lismaurahaun.

In 1935 we visited the Coolagh River Swallet or Polldonough. The cave was then followed about 800 yards, as far as a large pool in the main passage. As it was very wet we turned back, determined to explore further in 1936. We were fortunate, as the water was very low, and the whole affair was much easier than the year before. It is usually a very wet cave, and care is necessary as the stream seems to rise very quickly. The cave drains a large area on the West side of Slieve Elva. It starts in a long winding passage, about six feet high and three feet wide. At first it was possible to stand upright and even to admire the rock and stalactite formations. Soon the passage lowered to about four feet— a narrow T-shaped channel, filled with water, a breathing space between the water and roof, full of straw and the refuse of recent floods. Then we came to a short double crawl—a foot between roof and floor. The roof rose again and we found ourselves in a stream passage, similar to the one at the entrance ; this finished in a still longer crawl.

Finally, sticking a head over a lip of rock, we looked into a large cave, 15 feet high and six or seven feet wide. A young river slipped noiselessly down its smooth and polished floor. We turned right down stream, down a small waterfall, and to the pool which had stopped the party the year before. A belay was rigged on the left and one of the party, putting on a rope and an electric headlamp, slipped into the water. The pool proved easy to cross. A push off from shore and a couple of strokes brought him to a ledge and more or less dry land on the other side. A rope was rigged and by pulling on this and by dint of much kicking, four of the party went across.

The cave continued high and wide, down several small waterfalls and through pools. These were not noticed by some until they stepped into them straight up to the shoulders, leaving nothing visible but a head moving over the face of the waters. Some pools were long and deep, up to the arm pits, so that one seemed to float through them like a disembodied spirit. Rapid progress was made until the passage was blocked by a fall of great boulders. This was turned by climbing up to the right and then left along a narrow crack and down on to the floor of the cave, by a muddy slab. We arrived at a junction where we followed the stream to the right up to a muddy pool. Here the water seemed to sink left under the rocks, probably into a bedding plane. Returning to the junction, we explored the left-hand passage— again very muddy and blocked after a short distance. The party returned upstream, taking the pool with neat dives.

We were much pleased with this fine new cave, with an estimated distance of three-quarters of a mile to a mile.

Meanwhile a pothole had been found on the west side of Slieve Elva, which we also explored. The first pitch was nearly go feet and high hopes of a good cave below were entertained. Unfortunately we drew a blank ; beyond a fine pot, a few boulders at the bottom and some bones, nothing was discovered. At the suggestion of the voluble audience of two from the farm of Ballyelly, we called it Pollapouka Ballyelly. E. E. Roberts and Gowing had joined us for this trip and provided the tackle, as ours had vanished into the inscrutable mysteries of the Great Southern Railway and was duly delivered to us on the day of departure.

By exploring the line of clints, where streams run off the gritstones of the Western side of Slieve Elva, we found two good caves and the promise of more. This was in 1936. One of these—Faunarooska—we hoped would turn out one of the best caves in County Clare. The other—Polldubh—we explored the afternoon after descending Pollapooka. The cave started in a break-through into a small stream passage, containing good stalactites ; this was followed down until the stream ran through a curiously arched window into a bigger passage. This big passage was followed a long way but contained nothing of note, except a very cold pool. Soon we arrived at the inevitable bedding-plane, full of evil-smelling mud and probably flooded under normal conditions, at least I hope so. This final crawl was very long and trying and we followed a crawl left as well, which yielded nothing but bruised knees. We came back to daylight again by following the main passage back to its sources. A black hole, if ever there was one, we called it Polldubh, amongst other things. The other cave we explored the next day.

Faunarooska Cave, as we called it, opens in a small swallet hole in the western slopes of Slieve Elva. Its entrance enjoys what house-agents call an unequalled view across Galway Bay and it also has an ample supply of running water. I well remember how attractive that view was and how long we lay about in the sun, before we could decide to go down, our last Thursday afternoon in 1936. Eventually, on going into the cave, we found ourselves in a narrow high twisting passage, which we followed down, twist after twist, for a very con­siderable distance. Soon our way was varied by crawls in the water under curtains of stalactite, which grew in number and beauty. By some especially remarkable fan or pendant stalactite curtains we called a halt and played a tune or two on this odd glockenspiel. We came too upon a very fine grotto, feeling with Martel and other pioneers ‘ that a forest of needles of delicate hue now arose before us.’ Then came a block in the passage and the roof started to close down, an ominous sign in these parts, but up to the right we got into another passage, which we followed for some distance. The cave up till now had reminded us of the upper series in Swildon’s Hole in Mendip. Then quite suddenly we came upon a small waterfall and a deep pool, and we were in a high and roomy passage.

This we followed conveniently for some way, when at length we had to climb up and make our way over boulders, and a kind of roof traverse. Then we dropped down again into a crack, rather narrow and filled with one foot of water and several feet of most tenacious mud. It was a case of keeping on the move to prevent oneself from sinking. Later we came into a passage of stalactite and tufa formations—the finest I have seen outside the caves of Majorca, at least such was my first impression, though later familiarity bred a certain measure of contempt. We arrived at a junction, where the left hand route went down a few yards of muddy passage to the head of a pitch, a big one for Ireland, about sixty feet as near as we could guess by slinging over lumps of mud. The right hand passage was blocked after a few yards by a stalactite curtain.

Returning along the passage, we found the stream sinking left through a crack. A few feet upstream from this point, we found a little ten-foot pot, which led round into a lower stream passage. This we followed until we arrived at a fissure, down which the stream disappeared ; the first pitch of this seemed about twenty feet deep. As we had no tackle, we left it at that and made our way back. The passage seemed to turn and twist unendingly, till we began to cast an eager eye for familiar landmarks, wondering if the road led uphill.all the way. It is easy to miss the way out and we went on some way before discovering our mistake. We had been down about five-and-a-half hours and we estimated the length of the cave to be about a mile ; I expect it is rather less.

All this fun took place in Easter 1936 and we left Roberts and Gowing behind with full instructions how to find the cave ; to our secret delight they did not succeed in finding the entrance and we had doubts as to whether we ourselves should ever find it again.

At Easter 1937 however we finished it off. First the stream pot or rift, which we had estimated to be twenty feet, needed a forty foot ladder ; it was a pitch similar to the rift down from Long Churn into Alum Pot, but much wetter and with a constricted taking-off place as in the Dome Pitch in Lost Johns’. This forty footer is followed by about the same depth of rift and chimney pitches, which I did not descend. The final twenty feet of this was very hard and smooth going and was characterised by a huge knife-edged flake of rock, projecting into and dividing the rift. At the bottom is a sump ; one hero estimated its depth to be five feet, which he subsequently proved to be correct by the total immersion process; there was an apparent continuation with nine inches breathing space between the water and the roof. We should not regard it as poaching if any one would care to explore further; The pitch at the end of the dry muddy passage turned out to be a fine ninety foot pot with good stalactite flows on the walls. At the bottom of this the passage closes in after a hundred feet.

Others in our party this year also visited the upper reaches of Polldubh and in the same series, a cave named Poll Balliny, which was followed for a few hundred yards ; progress was restricted in places but stalactite formations were good. Another small pot and cave near was entered with the help of a couple of sticks of gelignite, which explosion delighted all including the farmer, whose land we blew up.

We explored thoroughly the western, northern and eastern sides of Slieve Elva; there were many shake holes, most of the more feasible ones on the north and leading towards the Poulnagollum system. We tried to get compass bearings of most of our finds and hope to fit them to the six-inch maps of the district. Stop press reports a large hole on the mountain west of Slieve Elva.

There are many other caves undoubtedly in the eastern part of the Burren, as this limestone district is called; we came upon one or two which we did not finish. The whole district requires exploring on foot with the aid of six-inch maps; this would take two people about three months. Then a larger party could do the actual exploration of the caves in a comparatively short time. We had to spend much time wandering about to find a suitable hole and even now we have explored only the Slieve Elva district at all thoroughly. There are miles upon miles of country we did not touch. Personally I enjoyed wandering about, but really keen cave explorers were apt to grow tired of searching one likely looking swallet hole after another and finding so few that looked promising. The number of swallets is legion, perhaps sur­passing the ingenuity of man to examine them all, though it improves one’s botany, patience, and geology.