|
|
|
|
||
|
County Galway - Field Monuments |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dolmens and Wedge Graves (Stone Age) Dolmens and wedge-shaped graves are smaller types of megalithic tombs, the finest examples in Ireland being in the valley of the River Boyne in County Meath and the best-known of which is Newgrange. County Galway has few examples of these monuments, and none is spectacular. The parish of Kilbeacanty near Gort, has one such example. There is uncertainty about whether the two stones in a field just outside the village of Oranmore on the old Galway Road is a very primitive dolmen or a fortuitous arrangement. Round Towers and Monastic Sites Monastic sites are more common than round towers, but an excellent location for both is Kilmacduagh near Gort, once used as the logo for Ireland Mid-West Online, and which has a well preserved leaning tower and the ruins of a cathedral and several smaller churches. A local legend states that by intercession of the founder, St. Colman MacDuagh, no person would ever be killed by lightning in the diocese of Kilmacduagh, but that two wild birds would be killed at the site yearly instead. Forts (Iron Age Period) County Galway has numerous examples of small earthen ring-forts, most of which are of no particular interest. However in Dun Aengus in Inishmore, Aran Islands, it has one of the finest forts in the country. Situated on the edge of a cliff it is protected by a drop of 200ft (approx 65m) to the sea below. On the other side, the defences are three massive stone walls and a chevaux-de-frise outside them. This fort has to be seen to be appreciated. All three of the Aran Islands have good specimens of stone forts. High Crosses (Early Christian Period) County Galway is poorly supplied with these and has no cross on the grand scale of the great crosses of Clonmacnoise or Durrow. There must have been market crosses in some of the towns, but these have mostly disappeared. One that remains is in the centre of Tuam, which is a relatively late specimen, dating from the 12th century. The carvings are not particularly interesting, and an inscription on the base asks for prayers for O'Connor and O'Hession. Castles There are no equivalents of the massive castles of Leinster or Munster, and most of the 'castles' are more correctly tower houses, of 4 or 5 storeys. There are many of these scattered throughout the county in various states of disrepair. probably the best-known is Thoor Ballylee, near Gort, which is well known because it was once the house of Nobel Prize winning poet W.B.Yeats, who renovated it as a dwelling; it is now a museum. Many of these towers were built by the de Burgo (later Burke) family (south Galway), the O'Flaherty family (west Galway) and elsewhere by the de Berminghams and the O'Shaughnessys. Standing Stones The Turoe Stone is a monument of international significance. Located at Turoe, near the village of Bullaun, 5 miles (8km) north of Loughrea, it is a carved stone 1m high and decorated in a European style called La Tere (after a place in France). It has been suggested that the stone is a phallic symbol, but this is conjectural. The La Tere style is Celtic and occurs across Europe north of the Alps. Its distinctive art-style was abstract based on curved lines and is regarded as the first real contribution to European art of the barbarian tribes. The Turoe Stone is one of the finest European examples of the style. Fulacht Fias These early cooking places are fairly common, and are usually, as we would expect, assoociated with ring-forts. There is no outstanding example, and all are much the same. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
