Noon's Hole
Encyclopedia
Noon's Hole lies about 5 km northwest of the centre of Boho, in the townland
of Old Barr in the parish of Devenish
, County Fermanagh
, close to the border with Boho parish. The cave is under part of the remarkable escarpment on the east side of the Glenade Sandstone uplands. At 81 m (265.7 ft), this pothole was thought to have the deepest underground shaft in Ireland, but this honour was passed to Reyfad Pot, which contains an entrance shaft of 88 m (288.7 ft). The continuation of the cave system (incorporating the Afternoon Series and High Noon's) extends via 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of passage and a difficult cave dive to the resurgence at Arch Cave, making this system the 8th deepest in Ireland, at 108 m (354.3 ft). Noon's Hole used to be called "Sumera", meaning abyss, but gained notoriety and the new name of "Noon", after a notorious murder took place there. Ordnance Survey
maps still use both names.
He was taken to the main shaft of the cave and flung into the depths of the Sumera. However, his body caught on a ledge in the cave and was recovered when eight days later the police, local gentry, three magistrates and a great crowd gathered at the brink of the hole. Planks were put across the hole and a well-sinker named Cavanagh was lowered to bring up the remains. The body was then carried to a chapel for a wake but local people blocked the doorway preventing entrance. The murderers of Noone were never caught.
In 1879 a long ballad was composed about the event. The penultimate verse goes:
explored the cave for the first time, descending to 20 metres (65.6 ft). It was not until 1912 that a group called the Yorkshire Ramblers reached the bottom. This group consisted of four men: Dunn, Kentish, Major Wingfield and Ernest A. Baker, and they made the descent using a 105-foot rope ladder, built by Fermanagh ships chandlers and timber merchants. For illumination, they wore candles on their hats and occasionally lit magnesium strips to light the entrance.
On reaching the bottom, they found a "dungeon like place" some 20 feet by 6 feet, with a small passage leading off. However after exploring for another 20 feet, this passage was blocked by water which reached to the roof and so they could not proceed. It wasn't until the 1970s that a parallel shaft, met part-way down the main stream shaft, was investigated by the University of Leeds
Speleological Society, revealing navigable passage (the Afternoon Series) at its near-identical base.
In 1973, cave divers Martyn Farr
and Roger Solari passed the upstream sumps in the resurgence cave, Arch, to emerge in the Afternoon Series at the bottom of Noon's Hole. Subsequently the first through-trip was made via diving and ropes from one entrance to the other. The discovery of the High Noon's Series beyond the Afternoon Series by the Reyfad Group in 1975 enabled the eventual discovery of a dry connection to Arch 2 (the section of Arch Cave upstream of sump 1) in 1984.
A stream pours over the edge of Noon's Hole, so that climbers are constantly inundated with its deluge. This stream works its way through the system beyond the bottom of the surface pot, eventually emerging about half a mile away at Ooghboragan (Arch Cave), on the border between Agharahan townland and the Drumbegger and Killydrum townlands of Boho parish.
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Old Barr in the parish of Devenish
Devenish
Devenish may refer to:In geography:* Devenish, County Fermanagh, a parish in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland* Devenish, Victoria, a town in Australia* Devenish Island, an island in Northern IrelandIn people:...
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
, close to the border with Boho parish. The cave is under part of the remarkable escarpment on the east side of the Glenade Sandstone uplands. At 81 m (265.7 ft), this pothole was thought to have the deepest underground shaft in Ireland, but this honour was passed to Reyfad Pot, which contains an entrance shaft of 88 m (288.7 ft). The continuation of the cave system (incorporating the Afternoon Series and High Noon's) extends via 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of passage and a difficult cave dive to the resurgence at Arch Cave, making this system the 8th deepest in Ireland, at 108 m (354.3 ft). Noon's Hole used to be called "Sumera", meaning abyss, but gained notoriety and the new name of "Noon", after a notorious murder took place there. Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland was the official mapping agency of Northern Ireland. The agency ceased to exist separately on 1 April 2008 when it became part of Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, an executive agency of the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel, along...
maps still use both names.
Dominick Noone
Dominick Noone (original spelling) was a highwayman of strange appearance, as he wore his yellow hair in ringlets down to the waist. He was a member of the illegal organisation known as the Ribbonmen, an agrarian reform group, but subsequently became an informer and it was on his evidence a number of men were transported to Australia. Always a popular figure in the area, particularly for his outstanding singing and dancing abilities, he was invited to a ‘wedding party’ to perform in 1826. It was a trap and, despite his police protection, he was kidnapped and hidden in a cottage in the uplands above Boho where he may have had his tongue cut out (his skull was so severely crushed that the mutilation could not be confirmed).He was taken to the main shaft of the cave and flung into the depths of the Sumera. However, his body caught on a ledge in the cave and was recovered when eight days later the police, local gentry, three magistrates and a great crowd gathered at the brink of the hole. Planks were put across the hole and a well-sinker named Cavanagh was lowered to bring up the remains. The body was then carried to a chapel for a wake but local people blocked the doorway preventing entrance. The murderers of Noone were never caught.
In 1879 a long ballad was composed about the event. The penultimate verse goes:
Within the mountain nature made,
A deep and dismal cave,
That suited well the murderers said,
To be a traitor's grave,
They flung the lifeless body below -
A groan they thought it gave.
Exploration
A Sumera is a bottomless pit, and locals initially treated Noon's Hole as a supernatural area, viewing it with suspicion and fear. However, in August 1895, the French cave exmplorer Édouard-Alfred MartelÉdouard-Alfred Martel
, the 'father of modern speleology', was a world pioneer of cave exploration, study, and documentation...
explored the cave for the first time, descending to 20 metres (65.6 ft). It was not until 1912 that a group called the Yorkshire Ramblers reached the bottom. This group consisted of four men: Dunn, Kentish, Major Wingfield and Ernest A. Baker, and they made the descent using a 105-foot rope ladder, built by Fermanagh ships chandlers and timber merchants. For illumination, they wore candles on their hats and occasionally lit magnesium strips to light the entrance.
On reaching the bottom, they found a "dungeon like place" some 20 feet by 6 feet, with a small passage leading off. However after exploring for another 20 feet, this passage was blocked by water which reached to the roof and so they could not proceed. It wasn't until the 1970s that a parallel shaft, met part-way down the main stream shaft, was investigated by the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
Speleological Society, revealing navigable passage (the Afternoon Series) at its near-identical base.
In 1973, cave divers Martyn Farr
Martyn Farr
Martyn Farr is a leading exploratory cave diver and caver, known for his record breaking cave dives and the exploration of many miles of previously undiscovered underground passages...
and Roger Solari passed the upstream sumps in the resurgence cave, Arch, to emerge in the Afternoon Series at the bottom of Noon's Hole. Subsequently the first through-trip was made via diving and ropes from one entrance to the other. The discovery of the High Noon's Series beyond the Afternoon Series by the Reyfad Group in 1975 enabled the eventual discovery of a dry connection to Arch 2 (the section of Arch Cave upstream of sump 1) in 1984.
A stream pours over the edge of Noon's Hole, so that climbers are constantly inundated with its deluge. This stream works its way through the system beyond the bottom of the surface pot, eventually emerging about half a mile away at Ooghboragan (Arch Cave), on the border between Agharahan townland and the Drumbegger and Killydrum townlands of Boho parish.
See also
- Caves of the Tullybrack and Belmore hillsCaves of the Tullybrack and Belmore hillsThe Caves of the Tullybrack and Belmore hills can be found in south-west County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is mainly within Boho parish. The region is also described as the West Fermanagh Scarplands by environmental agencies and shares many similar karst features with the nearby Marble Arch...
- List of caves in the United Kingdom