Niall's Mound at Tullymore

 

On the death of Conor, King of Ireland, who, unable to redress the misfortunes of his country, died of mental anguish and bodily fatigue, Niall, generally known to posterity by the name of Niall Caille, succeeded to the throne in 833 and reigned thirteen years. Stuart, in his memoirs of Armagh, gives the following account of his death and burial:- "At the foot of Tullamore hill, which the river divides from Umgola, Niall halted his troops. At his command, one of his warriors endeavoured to pass the ford on horseback, but was instantly hurled from his steed by the impetuosity of the waters. Niall, who, with strong emotions, saw him struggling for life, commanded his guards to make every effort for his preservation. In vain was the command obeyed; terror fixed them to the spot immovable. The magnanimous King dashed forward with a generous resolution to save his friend or perish in the attempt. As he approached the bank of the river, the ground, undermined by the torrent, sank beneath his horse's feet, the monarch was precipitated into the flood, where death at once closed his career, his victory, and his life. His body was deposited in a grave dug in Tullamore, on the bank of the river where he had so prematurely perished. A simple mound of earth which tradi-tion has from generation to generation denominated 'Niall's Mound,' lately marked the spot where the Sovereign of Ireland lies in the silence of death." Niall was drowned in the fifty-fifth year of his age, AD 846. in commemoration of his untimely death was written-"A curse on thee, oh severe Callainne Thou stream-like mist from the mountain; Thou hast painted death on every side, On the warlike brunette face of Niall." The "mound of earth" was most probably raised merely to point out the spot where Niall perished, as after the intro-duction of Christianity the Irish were invariably buried in churchyards or appointed cemeteries. The missionaries, having observed the attachment the people had to their old sepulchres, preached and propagated the principles of Chris-tianity at these places; they erected stones and wooden crosses where the rites of the Christian religion were practised, and from hence they preached and promulgated the tenets of the Gospel. These monuments, of whatsoever description, were denominated " Kills." Niall had, it appears, some warning to avoid the river Callan, for it was predicted some time before his death that he should be drowned in that stream, which was the sad occasion of his name: and he was always mentioned after-wards by the name of Niall Caillne. The word Callan in Irish means "loud talk, noise, or calling," and perhaps the name signifies the "echoing river."