Dún na Rí Forest Park
Location:
Dún an Rí Forest Park is located 1.5km north of Kingscourt
on the R179 to Carrickmacross.
History:
The Forest Park embraces part of the Cabra Estate, which was formerly
owned by the Pratt family. It is situated in the parish of Enniskeen,
which includes a portion of the Barony of Clonee, Co. Cavan and
a smaller part of the Barony of Kells, Co. Meath.
The O'Reilly family ruled the area until the end of the 16th century when they were succeeded by the Flemings, who built Fleming's Castle at Cabra in 1605. In 1666, Col. Thomas Cooch, a forebear of the Pratt family, came into possession of the estate. The 'Romantic Glen' of the Cabra River, stretching the full length of the park is an area steeped in history and legend.
It is said that Cuchulain camped here at night while conducting his single-handed defense of Ulster against the armies of Queen Maeve by day.
Eilis Boland who wrote the famous ballad "Doonaree"
wrote about "the wishing well,
beyond the chestnut tree in a shady nook, by a winding brook"
The chestnut tree still stands and is a feature of the parkland.
Forest Walks:
There are a number of different walking paths in Dún an Rí.
There are four walks of approximately 1.5-2km in length all with
points of interest.