Hello and welcome to this weekend’s virtual walk.

Today we are going to make a whistle stop and a short walk to one of Irelands real curiosities – the Jumping wall

Let me tell you , Ireland is full of unusual things – from fairy trees to The leprechaun museum to The butter market .. but today I want to share with you the story of the jumping wall.

Let’s head to the middle of County Louth, not far from the town of Ardee to a tiny churchyard near the village of Kildemock .

 

There is no car park nearby, so we will have to park the car in the ditch, and mind yourself as you get out as you may get stung by nettles or scratched by briars !!

There is a rusty gate and stile leading to the Church , lets scramble in and have a look around.

The church that has stood here since it was founded by Saint Dimoc, a disciple of St Patrick and St Benan . What we see is said to date from the 13th century when it was in the ownership of the Knights Templar and like so many other Churches in Ireland it was supressed by Henry VIII of England in 1540. It has been disused since that time.

As you can see there are many graves both inside and outside the ruined church… and here comes the fact which makes this  one of the most outlandish attractions in Ireland ..

 

Take a look at the western gable of the church…. Can you see that it has mysteriously moved about three feet inside the church. Can you also see that it’s almost perfectly intact, as if it’s simply jumped ??

Here what is said happened – In February 1715 a local man who had been excommunicated from the church was buried within the ruins of the old church. A storm blew up shortly afterwards and the whole gable wall jumped inwards, therefore ensuring that the buried man was laid to rest outside the church. Did a higher power move the wall on purpose?

It is true  that a storm DID occur , but the mystery remains how the whole wall moved in unison and did not collapse. As you know it can happen that a storm will blow down a wall, but it will get demolished and ruined and how come this wall remained intact managed only to exclude one grave from within its walls ??

This mystery will never be solved, and like so many Irish stories myths, legends and the truth often get mixed up.

All I can say is that its something really unusual, and hidden off the beaten track . I do hope that you enjoyed this short walk and visit today.

Take care until next time. Stephen