HOME
*



picture info

Aran Islands
The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in County Galway. From west to east, the islands are: Inishmore (''Árainn'' / ''Inis Mór''), which is the largest; Inishmaan (''Inis Meáin''), the second-largest; and Inisheer (''Inis Oírr''), the smallest. There are also several islets. The population of 1,226 (as of 2016) primarily speak Irish language, Irish, the language of local placenames, making the islands a part of the Gaeltacht. Most islanders are also fluent or proficient in Hiberno-English, English. The population has steadily declined from around 3,500 in 1841. Location and access The approaches to the bay between the Aran Islands and the mainland are: * North Sound''An Súnda ó Thuaidh'' (more accurately ''Bealach Locha Lurgan'') l ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Inishmaan
Inishmaan ( ; ga, Inis Meáin , the official name, formerly spelled , meaning "middle island") is the middle of the three main Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of County Galway in the province of Connacht. Inishmaan has a population of about 183 (census 2016), making it the smallest of the Aran Islands in terms of population. It is one of the most important strongholds of traditional Irish culture. The island is predominantly Irish language, Irish-speaking and part of the Gaeltacht, though all inhabitants have knowledge of English. Geology and geography The island is an extension of The Burren. The terrain of the island is composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as "grykes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints". The limestones date from the Visean period (Lower Carboniferous), formed as sediments in a tropical sea about 350 million years ago, and compressed into horizontal strata with fossil ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Inisheer
Inisheer ( ga, Inis Oírr , or ) is the smallest and most easterly of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With 281 residents as of the 2016 census, it is second-most populous of the Arans. Caomhán of Inisheer, Caomhán of Inis Oírr is the island's patron saint. There are five small settlements: Baile Thiar, Chapeltown (Baile an tSéipéil), Castle Village (Baile an Chaisleáin), Baile an Fhormna and Baile an Lorgain. Name The island was originally called ''Árainn Airthir'', and later ''Inis Oirthir'', which are thought to mean "eastern Aran" and "eastern island" respectively. (see scanned records) The second element is also found in the names Inishsirrer and Orior Lower, Orior. According to Séamas Ó Murchú, the current official name, , was brought into use by the Ordnance Survey Ireland. He says it may be a compromise between and the traditional local name . Geology and geography The island is geologically an extension of The Burre ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Inishmore
Inishmore ( ga, Árainn , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 762 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and most populous of the Aran Islands. The island is in the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht and has a strong Irish culture. Much of the island is karst landscape and it has a wealth of ancient and medieval sites including Dún Aonghasa, described as "the most magnificent barbaric monument in Europe" by George Petrie. Name Before the 20th century, the island was usually called ''Árainn'' or ''Árainn Mhór'', which is thought to mean "kidney-shaped" or "ridge". It was anglicized as 'Aran', 'Aran More' or 'Great Aran'. This has caused some confusion with Arranmore, County Donegal, which has the same Irish name. The name 'Inishmore' was "apparently concocted by the Ordnance Survey for its map of 1839" as an anglicization of ''Inis Mór'' ("big island ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Saint Brecan
Saint Brecan was an Irish saint active in the 5th century AD. There are legends concerning Brecan from Clare and Aran, and wells and churches are dedicated to him in various places in Ireland. His main monument is the ''Tempull Breccain'' complex on Inishmore in the Aran Islands. Life and legends Brecan is the oldest of all the local saints of County Clare, and lived around 480 AD. He was grandchild of Carthan Fionn, one of the Dalcassian kings who reigned in Munster around 439 AD. His grandfather was baptized by Saint Patrick at what is now Singland, near Limerick. His father, son of the king, was Eochu Balldearg, or Eochu of the Red Spot. It was recorded that Eochu was hopelessly disfigured and diseased when he was born, but was cured through a miracle by Saint Patrick. Brecan was one of two sons of Eochaidh Bailldearg, the other being Conall Caemh, and was originally named Breasel. A poem from the 14th or 15th century says he was a soldier before becoming a missiona ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ringfort
Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales and in Cornwall, where they are called rounds. Ringforts come in many sizes and may be made of stone or earth. Earthen ringforts would have been marked by a circular rampart (a bank and ditch), often with a stakewall. Both stone and earthen ringforts would generally have had at least one building inside. Distribution Ireland In Irish language sources they are known by a number of names: ' (anglicised ''rath'', also Welsh ''rath''), ' (anglicised ''lis''; cognate with Cornish '), ' (anglicised ''cashel''), ' (anglicised ''caher'' or ''cahir''; cognate with Welsh ', Cornish and Breton ') and ' (anglicised ''dun'' or ''doon''; cognate with Welsh and Cornish ').Edwards, Nancy. ''The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland''. Routledge, 20 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

O'Brien's Castle (Inisheer)
O'Brien's Castle, also called Furmina Castle, is an early 15th century tower house and National Monument located on Inisheer, Ireland. Location O'Brien's Castle is located at one of the island's highest points, in the north of Inisheer. History A ringfort once stood on the site, named ''Dún Formna'' ("hillfort of the ridge/shoulder", referring to the "shoulder" of land) and dated to between the 5th century BC and 1st century AD. The castle was built by the Clann Teige, a branch of the powerful O'Brien (Uí Briain) family, in the early 15th century around 1400. It was taken by the Ó Flaithbheartaigh (O'Flahertys) around 1582. It was captured and slighted by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1652, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Building The castle is a rectangular donjon (keep). The original doorway was into the first floor, accessed by an external wooden stairs. The entire first floor was a great hall, with mural stairs up to the parapet. The ground floor was a basem ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Clachan
A clachan ( ga, clochán or ; gd, clachan ; gv, claghan ) is a small settlement or hamlet on the island of Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland. Though many were originally kirktowns,MacBain, A. (1911) ''An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language'' Stirling Eneas MacKay, 1982 edition by Gairm today they are often thought of as small villages lacking a church, post office, or other formal building. It is likely that many date to medieval times or earlier – a cluster of small single-storey cottages of farmers and/or fishermen, invariably found on poorer land. They were often related to the rundale system of farming. According to David Lloyd, the Great Famine in Ireland (1845–49) caused such disruption to the social system that the clachans there virtually disappeared; many in the Scottish Highlands were victims of the Clearances. In some cases, they have evolved into holiday villages, or one or two houses have taken over, turning smaller houses into agricultural o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwater forests" (kelp forests) in shallow oceans, and is thought to have appeared in the Miocene, 5 to 23 million years ago. The organisms require nutrient-rich water with temperatures between . They are known for their high growth rate—the genera ''Macrocystis'' and '' Nereocystis'' can grow as fast as half a metre a day, ultimately reaching .Thomas, D. 2002. ''Seaweeds.'' The Natural History Museum, London, p. 15. Through the 19th century, the word "kelp" was closely associated with seaweeds that could be burned to obtain soda ash (primarily sodium carbonate). The seaweeds used included species from both the orders Laminariales and Fucales. The word "kelp" was also used directly to refer to these processed ashes. Description In most kelp ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan And Derelict
In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are specific kinds of shipwreck. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A shipwreck is defined as the remains of a ship that has been wrecked—a destroyed ship at sea, whether it has sunk or is floating on the surface of the water. Overview A wreck is categorized as property belonging to no apparent owner that either sinks to the seabed or floats on the surface of the water, whether it be intentionally cast overboard or as the result of an accident. The term encompasses the hull of the vessel and its fixtures as well as any other form of object on board, such as cargo and stores, and personal effects of the crew and passengers. This also encompasses the narrower definition of salvage, that is, property that has been recovered from a wreckage, or the recovery of the ship itself. There are a number of factors that contribute to the formati ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Galway Bay
Galway Bay (Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway city is on the northeast side. The bay is about long and from to in breadth. The Aran Islands (''Oileáin Árann'') are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay. To the west of Galway, the rocks are granite but to the south they are limestone. The approaches to the bay between the Aran Islands and the mainland are as follows: * the North Sound (''An Súnda ó Thuaidh'') lies between Inishmore and Leitir Mealláin in Connemara; known as ''Bealach Locha Lurgan'' in Irish. * Gregory's Sound (''Súnda Ghríoghóra'') lies between Inishmore and Inishmaan; known as ''Bealach na h-Áite'' in Irish. * Foul Sound (''An Súnda Salach'') lies between Inishmaan and Inisheer; known as ''Bealach na Fear ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Dún Aonghasa
Dún Aonghasa (Unofficial anglicised version Dun Aengus) is the best-known of several prehistoric hill forts on the Aran Islands of County Galway, Ireland. It lies on Inis Mór, at the edge of a cliff. A popular tourist attraction, ''Dún Aonghasa'' is an important archaeological site. History It is not known exactly when ''Dún Aonghasa'' was built, though it is now thought that most of the structures date from the Bronze Age and Iron Age. T. F. O'Rahilly surmised in what is known as O'Rahilly's historical model that it was built in the 2nd century BC by the Builg following the Laginian conquest of Connacht. Excavations at the site indicate that the first construction goes back to 1100 BC, when rubble was piled against large upright stones to form the first enclosure. Around 500 BC, the triple wall defenses were probably constructed along the fort's western side. The 19th-century artist George Petrie called "Dún Aonghasa" "the most magnificent barbaric monument in Eur ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

John Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly received, due to its bleak ending, depiction of Irish peasants, and idealisation of parricide, leading to hostile audience reactions and riots in Dublin during its opening run at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, which he had co-founded with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. His other major works include '' In the Shadow of the Glen'' (1903), ''Riders to the Sea'' (1904), ''The Well of the Saints'' (1905), and ''The Tinker's Wedding'' (1909). Although he came from a wealthy Anglo-Irish background, his writings mainly concern working-class Catholics in rural Ireland, and with what he saw as the essential paganism of their world view. Owing to his ill health, Synge was schooled at home. His early interest was in music, leading to a scholarship and degre ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]