THE FINGER POST
In the early ‘80’s a “New Fingerpost” was erected at its present picturesque setting in the centre of the roundabout at the foot of Maryborough Hill, just a few metres from where the “Old Fingerpost” once stood. The original Fingerpost was a stoutly built wooden road sign, of a type rarely seen nowadays, it stood at the junction of the Maryborough and Rochestown Road. Embedded in a beehive shaped pile of stone, it is about fifteen feet high, including the base. Apart from its value as a road sign, it was of some local historical significance. A local man, Phil Carty of Donnybrook, is said to have been hanged on the original Finger Post for his part in the 1798 Rebellion and his corpse left dangling in chains there. In days gone by, men passing by would raise their caps and bless themselves. This execution was commemorated in a local ballad.
"The Finger Post where walks the ghost
Of Phil Carty, Rapparee
Who hung in chains from his pointed vanes
Is now but a fallen tree.
'He gave one last look at old Donnybrook,
His home when he was free.
The stars were bright, but his mother's light,
Showed steady and plain to see.
'When the wind blows low, he cheats his foe,
When high on the gallow tree,
You'll hear the chains of his ghost's remains,
So a prayer and a tear give ye."