Limerick(10.9.1813, Ireland)"The scene of the next event which we will describe shall be Adare, in the county Limerick. Here, on Friday morning, the 10th of September, 1813, when the weather was very calm and serene, and the skyclear, about nine o'clock, a cloud appeared in the east, and very soon afterwards an eye-witness heard
eleven distinct reports, appearing to proceed thence, somewhat resembling the discharge of heavy artillery. Immediately after this followed
a considerable noise not unlike the beating of a large drum, which was
succeeded by an uproar resembling the continued discharge of musketry in line. (This, no doubt, was due to the echoes of the explosion.) The sky above the place whence the noise appeared to come became darkened and very much disturbed,, making
a hissing noise; and thence appeared violently to issue different masses of matter, which directed their course with great velocity in a horizontal direction towards the west. One of these was observed todescend; it fell to the earth and sank into it more than a foot and a half on the lands of Seagh, in the neighbourhood of Pobuck's Well. It was immediately dug up, and those who were present declared that it was then warm and had a sulphurous smell. It weighed about lTlba., and had no appearance of having been fractured in any part, for the whole of its surface was uniformly smooth and black as if affected by sulphur or gunpowder. It is now in the Oxford Museum. Six or seven more of the same kind of masses, but smaller and fractured, as if shattered from each other or from larger ones, descended at the same time with great velocity, in different places between the lands of Seagh and the village of Adare. Other stones also fell on the same occasion, one of which weighed 651bs."
Source: THE PRIMITIVE METHODIST MAGAZINE by WILLIAM LISTER, London, 1867, p.86
"The Limerick historian, Maurice Lenihan in his History of Limerick, never heard of a meteorite as his account of the landing records: “On September 10 [sic] near Adare,
a very loud report was heard in the air, like rapid volleys of artillery, accompanied by a long and rumbling noise, like the fire of musketry, the wind being at the time SW, nearly calm, and the mercury in the barometer standing at W29 in 8-10ths. Several stones were discharged from above and fell in the village of Adare and Patrickswell. One remains in the possession of Mr Tuthill of Faha, weighing four stones weight.”
The Limerick Chronicle , in its report, stated, “
the sound of most dreadful thunder was heard in the direction of Adare; the
peals were violent and continued for a considerable time and were accompanied with some awful appearances – large fragments of atmospheric stones, and other circumstances, which indicated some very serious concussion to have taken place.” The Limerick Evening Post described the meteorite fall as a phenomenon, and stated that the rocks that fell were of extraordinary weight and had a strong sulphurous smell. “This circumstance is vouched to us by several Gentlemen of the first respectability. The curious can see one of these stones at this office.”
Source: The Irish Times - Monday, September 12, 2011 , by DENIS O'SHAUGHNESSY
Martin
