The moss house on the Dargle - Brocas, James Henry (Irish painter and engraver, ca. 1790-1846) (My University, 2008)
The moss house, a folly near the River Dargle was described by Stirling Coyne, N. P. Willis and others in c. 1841, in the book THE SCENERY AND ANTIQUITIES OF IRELAND: "Another new and splendid view of THE DARGLE is obtained from a small patch of green sward at the bottom of the glen, close beside a broad pool, in which the waters of the river, dammed in by a ledge of rocks, sleep in unbroken tranquility. Looking up the stream, the waters are seen tumbling through a rocky channel from the dark woods, which, rising to a vast height on either side, exclude every other object. Perched on the shoulder of a precipitous cliff, the thatched roof and rustic pillars of a charming little cottage, called the Moss House, peep through the foliage of the trees that grow above and beneath it, and form a singularly pleasing object in the landscape. This beautiful spot is a favourite haunt for picnic parties from Dublin:--on the smooth turf which spreads its inviting carpet beside the clear stream, many a happy group may be seen, in the pleasant summer-time, laughing, dancing, singing, or dining al fresco, with that perfect contempt of care or ceremony which so strikingly distinguishes the light-hearted people of this country."
Keywords: River Dargle; Art--Irish; Drawing--Irish; Landscape--Ireland--Dublin.; Rivers--Ireland.; Follies (Architecture)--Ireland.; Forests in art.; Thatched roofs--Ireland.; Cliffs; 19th century