[10] It must be admitted that a letter alluded to at p. xix, post, written by the Rev. Cæsar Otway, a member of the Council, lends some colour to this assertion.
[11] P. xxiii of the introduction to Phœnician Ireland, inscribed “To the Public.”
[12] This letter will be found at p. lxxi, post.
[13] Vol. 59 of the Edinburgh Review for 1834.
[14] Gentleman’s Magazine for March 1834, p. 288; for Oct, 1834, p. 365 f.; and for Nov. 1835, p. 553. At pp. 340 f. of the volume for 1833, pt. ii., may be found a distinctly unfavourable review of O’Brien’s translation of Ibernia Phœnicia.
[15] Vide note 2, p. vii, ante.
[16] It may be remarked here that an Act for the protection of ancient monuments is much needed in Ireland.
[17] At p. 4 of his work on the Round Towers (2nd ed.).
[18] Amusing instances of this autocratic method pervade Dr. Petrie’s work on the Round Towers. Thus, at p. 109, he disposes of the Phallic Theory, which had exercised so many noble minds, with the single remark: “It is, happily, so absurd, and at the same time so utterly unsupported by authority or evidence worthy of refutation, that I gladly pass it by without further notice, even though it has found a zealous supporter in the person of Sir “William Betham” (who, it may be observed, was not only a member of the Academy, but one of the leading antiquarians of his day, besides being Ulster-King-at Arms, etc. etc.) “since these pages were originally written ... and who was consequently not unacquainted with their contents.” (The italics are ours.) No further reference to this much-debated theory occurs in his book; but there are many denunciations of Sir W. Betham for presuming to differ from him. His way of dealing with the evidences and arguments in support of the pagan origin of the Round Towers adduced by O’Brien and Sir W. Betham is simply this: “I have not thought them deserving of notice” (p. 359).
[19] At pp. 1, 2 of The Towers and Temples of Ancient Ireland, by Marcus Keane, M.R.I.A. (Dublin: Hodges, Smith & Co.); a very beautiful and interesting volume. A still more formidable champion of the revolt against Dr. Petrie’s sway has since appeared, the Rev. Canon Bourke, M.R.I.A., author of Pre-Christian Ireland (Brown & Nolan, Dublin, 1887).